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THE 

AMERICAN INDIAN 

IN THE 

UNITED STATES 



PERIOD 1850-1914 



BY 



WARREN K. MOOREHEAD, A.M., 

author, "the stone age in north america," curator 
of the department of american archaeology, 
phillips academy, andover, mass.; member of 
the united states board of indian 
commissioners; fellow, American 
association for the 
advancement of 
science, etc. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN; 
HIS POLITICAL HISTORY AND OTHER TOPICS 

A PLEA FOR JUSTICE 



1914 

THE ANDOVER PRESS 

ANDOVER, MASS. 



Copyright 1914 
Warren K. Moorehead 



FEB 15 1915 



CLA391950 



RED CLOUD (MAKH-PIYA-LUTA) 
War Chief of all the Sioux 



U ( <J 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Chapter Page 

Introduction 9 

I. Two Points of View 17 

II. The U. S. Indian Office in 1913 25 

III. The Indians Today and Hon. E. E. Ayer's Report 31 

IV. The Ojibwa of Minnesota 45 

V. The Legal Complications at White Earth — 

The Department of Justice 57 

VI. The White Earth Scandal . ... . . 66 

VII. Some Indian Testimony and Affidavits. Sickness 77 

VIII. The Roll. Stories. Responsibility for White Earth 89 

IX. The Sioux and the Messiah Craze 99 

X. The Dance Ill 

XI. The Agency; The Government; Louis Shangraux and the Troops . . 118 

XII. The Death of Sitting Bull and a Tragedy at W t ounded Knee . . . 123 

XIII. The Five Civilized Tribes 133 

XIV. Captain Grayson's Views; Miss Barnard's Work; 

The Minors' Estates 148 

XV. What Is Left of Indian Property in Oklahoma 157 

XVI. The Leasing System; Chocktaw and Chickasaw; Final 

Recommendations 164 

XVII. Red Cloud. The Greatest Indian of Modern Times 173 

XVIII. Red Cloud's Later Years 181 

XIX. Sitting Bull — The Irreconcilable 190 

- XX. Education 200 

XXI. Why Some Indians Object to Sending Children to School, 

and Further Comments on Education 211 

XXII. The Apache, Papago and Pueblo. The Desert Indian ...... 219 

XXIII. The Career of Geronimo 233 

XXIV. The Navaho . . 241 

XXV. Indians of the Northwest 253 

XXVI. Health of the Indians 1880 to 1912 265 

XXVIL The Indian's Religion; His Character; Philanthropic 

Organizations 279 

XXVIII. Irrigation Projects ' 291 

XXIX. The Buffalo 299 



4 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



XXX. The Plains Indians Fifty Years ago and Today 311 

XXXI. The Indians of California 325 

- XXXII. A Statistical Table. Prepared by Men and Women in the Field 341 

XXXIII. Farming and Stock-raising. Indian Fairs 359 

XXXIV. Four Important Books 367 

XXXV. Official Views of Indian Conditions 378 

XXXVI. Recommendations and Suggestions from Field Workers 887 

XXXVII. The Communistic Life. Indian Men and Women of Prominence. 

Morality 399 

XXXVIII. Two Stories. Unwise Purchases 407 

XXXIX. General Comments and Suggestions 417 

XL. Conclusions 423 

Index 435 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATION^ 

Pag 

Frontispiece. Red Cloud (Makh-piya-luta). War Chief of all the Sioux 
Arthur C. Parker. Iroquois. State Archaeologist of New York 



Indian Home, Onondaga Reservation, New York 

Map showing Country, 1879 . Opp. 

Modern Indian Home 

Government Sawmill, Ft. Belknap Reservation, Montana 34 

Map showing Country, 1913 Opp. 



U. S. Indian School, Chilocco, Oklahoma 

Lewis Tewanima, a Full-blood Hopi Indian 

James Thorpe. Educated at Carlisle 

Honorable Gabe E„ Parker, Choctaw 

Buildings, Pine Point, White Earth, Minnesota 

Ojibwa, blind from Trachoma, Pine Point, Minnesota 

Indian School Children in Uniform, Pine Point, White Earth, Minnesota 
James Bassett, Full-blood Ojibwa in Tribal Costume 



Dispossessed Ojibwa at Rear of Agency Buildings 61 

Group of Thirty Persons constituting Linnen-Moorehead Force, White Earth Investigation 1909 . 64 

Ojibwa Chief, Ke-way-din, Pine Point, White Earth Reservation, Minnesota 72 

Evicted Indians, Twin Lakes, White Earth Reservation, Minnesota, 1909 73 

Rose Ellis. Full-blood Ojibwa 78 

Ojibwa Graveyard, White Earth, Minnesota ■ . 92 

Modern Sioux Cabin and Summer Tent, Pine Ridge, 1909 104 

Government School Buildings, 1909 106 

Sioux Farming. White Clay Creek, Pine Ridge, 1909 108 

No Water's Camp of Ghost Dancers, 1890 1 10 

Ghost Dance at No Water's Camp 114 

The "Indian Gate", Pine Ridge, 1890 122 

The Catholic Mission near Wounded Knee Battlefield, Pine Ridge 126 

Monument in Memory of the Chief Big Foot Massacre, Sioux 131 

Cherokee Female Seminary at Talequah, Oklahoma 138 

Chief Plenty Coups Opp. 143 

Cherokee Male Academy near Talequah, Oklahoma 146 

Shack of a Poor Creek Indian, Oklahoma, 1913 155 

Old-style Cabin, 1850-1890. Cherokee. Oklahoma . 158 

Chief Keen-Fa-Chy addressing the Council Opp. 168 

Red Cloud and Professor Marsh 176 

Jack Red Cloud . Opp. 180 



6 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

The Hide Hunter's Work. 40,000 Buffalo Hides, Dodge City, Kansas. 1876 182 

The Last Arrow . . . Opp. 188 

Dr. Charles A. Eastman, Sioux 202 

Class in Agriculture, Chiloeco Indian School 208 

Improved Indian Home in the Southwest 215 

Pima Home, Arizona 222 

The Voice of the Water Spirits Opp. 226 

Indian Buildings of Recent Construction 228 

Southern Ute, Colorado 231 

Geronimo 234 

Porno Woman Weaving a Twined Basket, California 239 

Navaho Silversmith and His Outfit 244 

Red Goat and His Mother, Navaho, 1902 . 246 

Navaho Winter Hogan 250 

Modern Indian House, Oklahoma 251 

Exhibit of Grain, Vegetables and Fruits, Bead-work and Baskets 256 

Indian Pack Train in the Mountains 259 

The Challenge. Nez Perce Warrior 262 

Sanitorium School, Fort Lapwai, Idaho 266 

Aged Woman now nearly blind from Trachoma 269 

A Tuberculosis Patient 272 

National Indian Association Hospital at Indian Wells, Arizona 275 

Indian Cabin, North Dakota 276 

Rev. Sherman Coolidge, Arapaho 278 

Navaho Woman Weaving a Blanket • 290 

Navaho Home, New Mexico 294 

Rincon Reservation, Mission Indians, California 297 

U. S. Cavalry attacking Black Kettle's Village . 302 

The Hide Hunter . '. 306 

Creek Church and Camp-meeting Ground 309 

Oglala Woman Opp- 315 

Better Class of Full-blood Indians of Thirty Years Ago 320 

Linguistic Stocks in California 328 

Colored Blanket (title on plate) Opp. 343 

Leupp Hall, Students' Dining Room. Chiloeco Indian School, Oklahoma 362 

Indians Receiving Instruction in Plumbing. Haskell Institute, Kansas 364 

Navaho Summer Hogan . 365 

A Full-blood Sioux Girl, 1888 370 

Seminole Indian Houses and Cyclone Cellar. Oklahoma 374 

Indians Commercial Department 377 

Class in Domestic Arts. Haskell Indian School, Kansas ... 382 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 7 

Mourning the Dead 385 

Conference of Indian Y. M. C. A. Students at Denver, Colorado 386 

Creek Man and Woman cutting Wood, Sylvian, Oklahoma, 1913 . 393 

Alaskan Indian Children 396 

Portrait of Bay-bah-dwun-gay-aush 398 

The Last Outpost Opp. 403 

Large Indian House 404 

Carlisle Indian School Buildings 406 

Carlisle Indian School Campus 412 

Ojibwa Woman Dying of Consumption 416 

President Grant's Medal to Red Cloud . 419 

Miss Kate Barnard of Oklahoma 426 

Chief Peo-peo-tolekt. Nez Perce Warrior 430 

The Fading Sunset Opp. 433 



INTRODUCTION 



Additional Comments 

With some diffidence I present a history of the American Indian during 
the transition period. 

Excepting two or three bulletins, and some public addresses, all my 
publications have dealt with archaeological subjects, and the Indian of 
the past.* A study of the Indian of this country, during recent years, 
seems to indicate that at no time in his history has he faced a more critical 
situation than that which confronts him today. 

A helpful understanding of him and his needs is vastly more important 
than further scientific study. 

In writing this book it has been difficult to select that which should be 
published. A wealth of material relating to the complex life of modern 
Indians and their affairs was offered. The comparisons between tribes of 
today and a century ago present an absorbing field for study. I have fre- 
quently with difficulty checked myself, as it was more easy and pleasant 
to speak of the past rather than of modern days. 

It is comparatively simple to record existing Indian customs still 
surviving in out-of-the-way corners of the United States. But such do 
not represent the present cultural state of the Indian as a whole. As my 
book aimed at a correct perspective of the Indians today, the inclusion 
of such matter and the exclusion of the widespread Indian activities in 
other directions, might result in a distorted perspective — certainly the 
picture (while more pleasing) would not be true to life. It will be observed 
by readers, that while I have generally described the activities of modern 
Indians, that the real purpose of the book is to bring before the American 
public the acuteness of the Indian problem, and to suggest certain recom- 
mendations. 

A perusal of the following chapters will acquaint readers with all the 
facts — how that the Indian has been hurried into citizenship. We have 
changed his entire life within the space of a few generations and forced 
upon him serious problems. In fact, we have brought about so stupendous 
a change in his life, that his very existence is threatened. As will be in- 



* A bibliography of these will be found in "The Stone Age in North America." Vol. II, pages 408-410. 



10 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



dicated, much of the old life obtains in spite of all our civilizing influences. 
While this is true, the preponderance of evidence indicates that the greater 
majority of our Indians have passed into the transitional state. Whether 
they shall become upright, self-supporting, intelligent American citizens, 
depends upon our attitude rather than upon them. 

Since we have brought about the extinction of tribal and communistic 
life among the Indians, absolute responsibility for the future of the Indian 
rests with us In the olden days, under the general tribal life, the Indians 
were able to band together and protect themselves. Now that most of 
our reservations have been cut up, and the Indians placed upon individual 
farms, it is impossible for them to join in any movement for self -protection. 
They are now citizens, rather than members of a tribe. Hence, it is quite 
easy for unscrupulous white persons to take advantage of them. While 
we thought we were acting in the best interests of the Indian, what we 
really did, was to destroy natural barriers which formerly kept out the 
enemy. 

One should not object to, or find fault with an established policy, 
unless one offered a constructive policy in the place of that which he sought 
to destroy. I have, therefore, pointed out in my Conclusions what, in my 
opinion, must be done would we save the Indian. 

Indian Art and Old Industries 

The arts and industries of the Indians (barring a few exceptions) have 
been modified by contact with the Whites. As an illustration, the bead- 
work of the Ojibwa, Malecite, Penobscot, Iroquois and others is very 
different from the art of two centuries ago. Basketry still obtains, but 
except on the Pacific coast and in the Southwest, much of the textile work 
is influenced by European culture, and I have therefore omitted a con- 
sideration of Indian art in general. 

In the chapter on the Navaho there was reference to the extensive 
blanket industry of that people. There is no danger of the blanket industry 
becoming extinct, although it may deteriorate because certain well-mean- 
ing, but misguided persons desire to superintend the Navaho art. 

The basketry is threatened with extinction. The manufacture of 
beadwork, moccasins and Indian garments continues in various sections 
of the country, but has become modernized in design and manufacture. 
With the scarcity of deer, elk and buffalo, substitutes are now employed. 



INTRODUCTION 



11 



This is observed in so common an article as moccasins — which are far 
inferior to those in use fifty years ago. 

When Honorable R. G. Valentine was Commissioner, I made a some- 
what lengthy report on the possibilities of aboriginal art, or manufacture, 
as a commercial asset to the Indians. I recommended that the old basket 
and blanket weavers, and the few remaining Indians who are skilled in 
making bead designs, moccasins, and other articles, be encouraged in their 
native arts. I recommended to the Commissioner that he establish a 
Bureau of Arts and Industries somewhat different from that one maintained 
at the present time. That the older men and women should be encouraged 
to make their baskets and blankets as in olden days, and that these should 
be marketed through certain agencies and the profits accrue to the Indians. 
I took the position that it was useless to attempt to instruct young Indians 
in the arts of their parents. That these persons were properly instructed 
in the great Indian schools, but that the true expression of aboriginal 
art was found among the few, old, self-taught persons. Art cannot be 
superintended, and if we continue such a course we will destroy what 
remains and have in its place that which is the opposite of true art. Our 
attempt to "teach" the Indians music ended in failure. 

The Indian Office should encourage the old art-workers to make their 
products in their own way with absolutely no supervision upon our part. 

A Prophecy Verified 

Events have moved rapidly of late, and as the Introduction proofs 
come back from my publishers, the press dispatches from Washington 
announce the appointment of Honorable Gabe E. Parker as Commissioner 
to the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma. Mr. Parker is one of the bright- 
est of our educated Indians. Miss Barnard has just informed me that her 
successor in the Department of Charities and Corrections has been named. 
With these changes, Mr. Mott's remarkable prophecy of last February 
(See p. 163) is with one exception, completely verified. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



There are many persons, and a number of governmental Departments, 
to whom I am especially indebted. When I began the preparation of this 
manuscript nearly a year ago, I explained to officials in the United States 
Indian Office, Department of Justice, Smithsonian Institution, Indian 
Rights Association, and other organizations that I intended to prepare a 
history of the Indian of the transition period. It was made clear that a 
history must contain both the good and the bad; that a mere description 
of school activities and progress in arts and industries, would result in 
confirming the public in the present erroneous, but widespread opinion, 
that all our Indians are properly cared for, protected, and really becoming 
self-supporting. 

Great credit must be given to various officials and private citizens 
for their earnest cooperation. The subject was a delicate one for them 
to handle. Taking everything into consideration, I have clearly indicated 
that the present unsatisfactory condition of our Indians grew up through 
a gradual process of evolution. We must not select the administration of 
Mr. Morgan, or that of Messrs. Leupp and Valentine, or the present one, 
under Mr. Sells, and state — "It was under this regime that the Indian 
began to lose his property." Beginning fifty years ago, the evolution pro- 
ceeded regularly, but irresistibly, until it terminated in the bureaucracy of 
present times. No particular administration, and no group of men are 
to blame. 

Honorable Cato Sells, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Honorable 
E. B. Meritt, Assistant Commissioner, both instructed under-officials to 
afford me every possible courtesy in the preparation of this book, and I 
am greatly indebted to both of them. 

To Mr. Rodman Wannamaker and Dr. Joseph K. Dixon, I express 
thanks for the permission to reproduce photogravure plates illustrating 
the Indian of fifty years ago. Messrs. Doubleday Page & Co., publishers 
of Dr. Dixon's book, "The Vanishing Race", were good enough to make 
the impressions. 

Mr. George Wharton James and his publishers, A. C. McClurg & Co., 
permitted me to reproduce a fine, colored Navaho blanket and an illus- 
tration of a weaver, from "Indian Blankets and Their Makers". Mr. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



13 



J. Weston Allen of Boston also rendered me valuable assistance. The 
Carlisle School, Haskell Institute, and the United States Indian School, 
Chilocco, furnished information regarding their work, loaned me several 
plates and sent photographs. I have thanked the Superintendents in the 
list on this and the next page. 

Mr. C. E. Kelsey of California; Mr. Grant Foreman of Oklahoma; 
Capt. G. W. Grayson of Oklahoma, and L. V. McWhorter of Washington, 
have my special thanks for contributing pages to this book. I also am 
indebted to Hon. F. H. Abbott, Secretary of the Board of Indian Com- 
missioners, for information; Mr. M. K. Sniff en for Alaskan notes, and 
Miss Kate Barnard, Mr. M. L. Mott and H. C. Phillips for suggestions. 

In addition to the above I am indebted to many other persons, all of 
whom contributed more or less information. The list of these follows: 

Miss Caroline W. Andrus of Hampton, Va.; Mr. Marshall C. Allaben 
of New York City; Mr. Edgar A. Allen of Chilocco, Oklahoma; Mr. Benja- 
min W T . Arnold of Albany, N. Y.; Hon. Edward E. Ayer of Chicago; Mr. 
S. L. Bacon; Mr. A. F. Beard of New York City; Dr. Carl B. Boyd; Major 
John R. Brennan of Pine Ridge, So. Dak.; Hon. John B. Brown of Mus- 
kogee, Okla,; Dr. Charles M. Buchanan of Tulalip, Wash.; Rev. Eugene 
Buechel, S. J.; Miss Gertrude A. Campbell; Mr. W. S. Campbell; Rev. 
Aaron B. Clark; Rev. John W. Clark of New York City; Hon. P. P. Claxton 
of Washington, D. C; Miss Mary C. Collins; Mr. Charles E. Dagenett of 
Washington, D. C; Mr. Ira C. Deaver; Rev. P. Flor Digman, S. J.; Dr. 
Fred Dillon; Rev. George D. Doyle; Dr. Charles A. Eastman of Amherst, 
Mass.; Mr. J. R. Eddy; Mr. F. E. Farrell; Mr. E. R. Forrest of Washington, 
Pa.; Hon. A. N. Frost of Lawrence, Mass.: Mrs. Bella McCallum Gibbons; 
Mr. H. V. Hailman; Hon. C. F. Hauke of Washington, D. C; Rev. Aloysius 
Hermanutz, O.S.B.; Dr. F. W. Hodge of Washington, D. C; Rev. Roman 
Homar, O.S.B.; Rev. Alexander Hood; Rev. Ebenezer Hotchkin; Major John 
R. Howard of White Earth, Minn.; Mr. Seth K. Humphrey of Boston; Mr. 
H. Huson of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Rev. Julius Jette, S. J., of Tanana, 
Alaska; Hon. Dana H. Kelsey of Muskogee, Okla.; Rev. William H. 
Ketch am; Rev. Bruce Kinney, D. D., of Topeka, Kan.; Mr. Wm. C. Koh- 
lenberg; Mr. J. T. Lafferty of Winfield, Kas.; Dr. A. D. Lake; Rev. Simon 
Lampel, 0. S. B.; Hon. Franklin K. Lane of Washington, D. C; Hon. 
E. B. Linnen of Washington, D. C; Mr. G. Elmer E. Lindquist of Law- 
rence, Kas.; Hon. 0. H. Lipps of Washington, D. C; Rt. Rev. Arthur S. 



14 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Lloyd, D. D., of New York City; Colonel J. S. Lockwood of Boston, Mass.; 
Mr. Charles F. Lummis of Los Angeles; Mr. Arthur E. McFatridge; Mr. 
David L. Maxwell; Mr. A. P. Miller; Mr. John M. Moore of Nashville, 
Tenn.; Rev. S. L. Morris, D. D., of Atlanta, Ga.; Rev. George de la Motte, 
S. J.; Dr. Joseph A. Murphy of 'Washington, D. C; Rev. J. S. Murrow; 
Mr. A. F. Nicholson; Mr. A. S. Nichelson; Mr. E. C. O'Brien of Washing- 
ton, D. C; Mr. Arthur C. Parker of Albany, N. Y.; Mr. Henry W. Parker 
of Boston; Rev. Herman F. Parshall; Dr. Charles Peabody of Cambridge, 
Mass.; Mr. H. B. Peairs of Washington, D. C; Mr. Charles E. Pierce of 
Flandreau, So. Dak.; Rev. W. A. Petzoldt; Rev. W. B. Pinkerton; Mr. 
J. Harvey Randall; Mr. G. W. Reed; Rev. John Robinson; Rev. Fridolin 
Schuster, 0. F. M.; Rev. Simon Schwarz; Rev. Paul de Schweinitz of 
Bethlehem, Pa.; Mr. W. W. Scott; Mr. John H. Seger of Clinton, Okla.; 
Mr. Theodore Sharp; Miss Frances C. Sparhawk of Hyde Park, Mass.; 
Mr. Ernest Stecker; Rev. W. E. Stevenson; Rev. Bernard Strassmaier; 
Mr. Edward L. Swartzlander; The Editors of the North American Review; 
Miss Eliza W. Thackara; Mr. Frank A. Thackery of Sacaton, Ariz.; Mr. 
Harry H. Treat; Rev. Edward F. Van Waerbergh; Hon. George Vaux, Jr., 
of Philadelphia; Rev. Chrystom Vermyst, 0. F. M.; Dr. W. W. Wallace of 
Farmington, N. M.; Rev. Anselm Weber, 0. F. M.; Mr. William H. Wein- 
land; Mr. M. M. Welch of Atlanta, Ga.; Rev. Charles L. White, D. D., of 
New York City; Mr. H. C. Wilson; Mr. John R. Wise of Lawrence, Kan.; 
Mr. E. M. Wistar of Philadelphia, Pa.; Rev. C. A. Woody, D. D.; Hon. 
J. George Wright of Muskogee, Okla.; Mr. Robert M. Wright of Dodge 
City, Kas. 

A General Bibliography Omitted 

It is difficult, if not almost impossible, to compile a satisfactory bibli- 
ography relating to Indians and Indian affairs between the years 1850 
and 1914. Aside from reports emanating from officials and Departments, 
the largest body of literature is that dealing with the ethnology of existing 
tribes. Under the term ethnology would be included several divisions of 
the science. Most of the ethnologic works, reports and papers fall within 
no specified dates. Hence, a paper may cover one or two centuries, or it 
might be confined to some aboriginal activity in modern times. To com- 
pile a bibliography restricted to governmental reports, books by individuals, 
addresses, special articles, etc., concerning the administration of Indian 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



15 



affairs, and omitting scientific books and papers, is unsatisfactory and 
quite incomplete. I therefore omitted a general bibliography, although 
I cite some 150 books, reports and addresses. To readers who may desire 
to pursue the subject further, I would suggest that in addition to the 
Handbook of American Indians, there are the publications of the Smith- 
sonian Institution and Bureau of Ethnology, Washington. A large number 
of reports have been issued by these scientific institutions the past forty 
years, and they cover practically all activities of many of our Indian tribes. 
The American Anthropologist (1888-1914) will be found to contain valuable 
papers upon the language, folk-lore, religion, philology and general eth- 
nology of modern tribes. The Handbook of American Indians contains 
a bibliography of more than forty-two pages in length. 

Indian songs and music are presented in a large volume in a most 
attractive manner by Miss Nathalie Curtis. Basketry and blankets are 
described by Professor Mason and Mr. G. W. James. Dr. Charles A. 
Eastman's books of Indian life are excellent — and there are many others. 
These in addition to the Smithsonian, Bureau of Ethnology, Handbook, 
and Anthropologist cited, will afford readers an abundance of material. 



Corrections 



After Chapters I-XXX had been printed, Commissioner Sells notified 
me that through a typographical error on page 27, the 600,000 acres of 
irrigable lands had become 6,000,000! It would be exceedingly gratifying 
could we claim that the Indians had under cultivation 6,000,000 acres, but 
as the sum total is but 600,000, I cite the correction. 

On page 25, last paragraph, fourth line, "under the Chiefs of Divi- 
sions"; should be, "in the various Divisions". 

Page 112, second paragraph from bottom, fifth line: "witnessed many 
of these dances", should be "witnessed many different dances". 

Page 217. It was necessary to omit a special chapter devoted to agri- 
culture for the reason that in various places in the book the industries of 
modern Indians were commented on at length. In Chapter XXXIII, 
Farming and Stock Raising, it was thought best to omit the bibliography. 
Therefore, the last sentence in the paragraph should read, "These cover, 
in a general way, all phases of education." 

Page 247. Last paragraph. "John T. Shelton" should be, "William 
T. Shelton". 

Page 252, center of page: Parquette, should be Paquette. 



CHAPTER I. TWO POINTS OF VIEW 



The American Indian may be regarded from two wide and divergent 
points of view; that of the scientist, and that of the humanitarian. Under 
the former should be grouped all study of the Indian, past and present, 
falling under the general science of anthropology, and its various divisions 
and sub-divisions. This includes the study of the Indian as a primitive 
man belonging to the Red Race, and different from all other races on the 
face of the earth. This view comprises archaeology, physical anthro- 
pology, ethnology, folklore, religion, etc. 

The second, under the general title of humanitarianism, includes all 
progress, education, missionary endeavor, and that which may be summed 
up under the title Civilization, or as the modernists have it, "Social Ser- 
vice. 

After much thought, it occurs to me that we must view the Indian 
from these two and quite opposed angles — the scientific, the philanthropic. 

The average man or woman is not interested in the Indian from 
the point of view of the scientist. This is quite natural. But, persons 
of intelligence are interested in the Indian as a strange and peculiar in- 
dividual. He appeals to their imagination. The public has had presented 
to it during past years, great numbers of books, pamphlets and articles 
all dealing with the Indian, and most of them regard him from what is 
known as "the popular point of view." Having read, or glanced through 
scores of these, it is my firm conviction that, after all, we have not properly 
understood the Indian. 

The scientists have made him the subject of technical study, beginning 
with the generalities of two centuries ago and continuing down to the 
minutest of detail of modern investigations. Through our records of 
wars, and our sensational articles, we have been given the impression 
that his days were spent in fighting, and his nights in war dances. To 
the scientist he has appeared, not as a man, but as a bit of life to be dissected 
and preserved; or a specimen duly catalogued, described, and placed in 
an exhibition case. To the average man or woman, influenced by sen- 
sational books, and degrading wild-west shows, and that modern invention, 
the motion picture, he presents a figure as unreal as it is unhuman. 

The Indian of today, with few exceptions, having lost his aboriginal 
characteristics, the faith of his fathers and his whole life changed, is indeed, 
a fit subject for the educator, the philanthropist, and the social reformer. 



18 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Would one desire to understand this very peculiar race of red men, 
one should begin his study by observing the Indian of today. And his 
observation should cover the character, activities and condition of this 
Indian of modern times. He should regard him not merely through the 
cold, unsympathetic eyes of the scientist, who looks for survival of savage 
or primitive customs, but in a larger and broader sense. To begin with, 
everyone should realize that the survivors of the American race* are more 
in need today of protection and help than of scientific study. From a 
purely scientific point of view, the Indian has been pretty thoroughly 
studied the past fifty years. This statement of mine does not necessarily 
imply that there should be no technical study of the American Indian in 
these present days. But as between the work of the scientist and that of 
the humanitarian the Indian is vastly more in need of the latter than of 
the former. 

In the belief that our studies of the American Indian have so pro- 
gressed that one may now consider the race in its entirety, I have set myself 
the rather ambitious task of preparing a number of volumes treating of 
the American Indian of the present and past. After much deliberation 
it has occurred to me that the Indian of today should be first considered — 
hence this volume. At the outset, we find that generally speaking the 
Indian throughout the United States although maintaining much of his 
original speech, and in places some of his aboriginal characteristics, yet, 
as a whole, he is in the transition period. 

Our native Americans are, and have been, a remarkable people. 
Their very manner of life, their striking and picturesque costumes, their 
peculiar color and their diversified languages seem to have challenged the 
attention of explorers, travelers, priests and scientists. It is to be doubted 
if there is another aboriginal race, on the face of the earth, concerning 
which more books, articles and reports have been published. In Europe, 
as well as in America, the Indian is celebrated in song and story, yet since 
the discovery of America his domination has gradually diminished, and 
the period of his greatest activity (since the advent of the white race) is 
very short lived compared with that of other tribes of men. From 1500 
to 1700, he may be said to have controlled a sufficient extent of the United 
States and Canada, to dominate it. His power after the year 1700 rapidly 
diminished, and in 1800 we find that he did not control any large areas save 
west of the Mississippi and west of Lake Superior. Up to the year 1865, 
he dominated a large portion of the West, South West and North West. 
From 1880 down to the present time, his sun has rapidly declined and he 



* We are Americans by adoption. The real American race is the Indian. 




ARTHUR C. PARKER 
Iroquois. State Archaeologist of New York; Secretary Society 
American Indians 



20 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



may be said today to have passed out of the tribal estate, to have ceased to 
be a factor in national life as a separate race. He is rapidly becoming merged 
into our larger body of citizens, and while some thousands of Indians 
(perhaps 45,000) live and think in the past, the great majority of Indians, 
like the great majority of foreign immigrants, belong to the body politic. 

So, we consider the majority in this study of the Indian, rather than 
the minority; leaving that fraction to the scientist. 

If we are consistent in the statement that we shall begin with the 
present and work backward into the past, we must consider in this volume 
the activities and the life of the modern Indian, and the modern Indian 
being in the transition period presents us very little in the way of folklore 
and traditions. A careful study of the recent reports of ethnological 
investigators emphasizes this truth. The writers have invariably sought 
out the older Indians, for the very good reason that they knew much 
concerning the past. The greater number of Indians — the middle-aged 
and young, and the thousands of educated Indians — are not able to 
furnish material such as scientific investigators seek. A confirmation of 
my statement will be found in that excellent memoir, "Chippewa Music," 
by Miss Frances Densmore. This was published by the Bureau of Eth- 
nology in 1913. In this worthy publication, denoting much research, 
Miss Densmore is dependent on the older people for her information. 
Even these older persons, as they appear in the photographs accompanying 
the book, are dressed in garments such as are worn by white persons. 
Many of these Indians (as in the case of other tribes) keep a few old war 
bonnets, buckskin coats, moccasins, leggings, embroidered belts, etc., with 
which they adorn themselves on state-occasions, but their natural dress 
today, is European in character. Not only in Miss Densmore's book 
but in the reports of other investigators in the United States, where a 
group of Indians are assembled, one observes more evidence of European 
than native American costumes. It is frequently (if not usually) necessary 
to ask the Indians to put on their tribal costumes, and sometimes they 
are compelled to borrow a garment here and there among their friends in 
order to make up properly. There naturally arises the pertinent question 
— are not modern Indians so saturated with civilization that their opinions 
of tribal customs of past decades should be accepted with due reserve? 
This important question should be considered by some one of our numer- 
ous writers on Indian topics. 

The two maps presented opposite pages 25 and 35, will bring home 
to readers the tremendous shrinkage of Indian lands during the short 
space of thirty-five years. 



TWO POINTS OF VIEW 



21 



The map, presented by Commissioner Sells in his report for 1913, as 
contrasted to the map of 1879, shows that the Indian reservations have 
been cut down to at least one-third. The population in the year 1881 will 
be found in small figures on each area given on the map. It will be seen 
by comparing the period of 1879 with 1913, that the Navaho have greatly 
increased, and also the tribes now living in Oklahoma (formerly Indian 
Territory). Others have either diminished, or show slight increases. 

The increases are due to growth of the mixed-blood elements, to 
white men marrying Indian women.* The allotment plan, the accumu- 
lation of tribal funds, the increase in property values — all these factors 




INDIAN HOME, ONONDAGA RESERVATION, NEW YORK 



induced many persons to "get on the Indian rolls" and thus swell the 
numbers; while the pure-blood Navahos are increasing, I doubt if other 
tribes show growth — save in the mixed-blood element referred to 
above. 

Certainly these two maps present us with facts for serious study. 
They indicate the rapidity with which the Red Race's property is being 
legislated away. Many reservations have been abolished, and the Indians 
allotted land in severalty. If the Indians held such lands as white men 
hold their farms, the whole Indian area today would be as large as for- 
merly, even though reservation lines are abolished. Some do hold their 



* Excepting the Navaho. 



22 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



lands. But most of them sell, lease, or mortgage; the maps, after all, 
tell the sad truth, and the erasure of governmental lines usually means 
the blotting out of Indian titles. 

Table 1. — Ixdiax populatiox of the Uxited States from 1850 to 1913 



Year Authority 

1850 Report of H. R. Schoolcraft 388,229 

1853 Report of United States Census, 1850 400,764 

1855 Report of Indian Office 314,622 

1857 Report of H. R. Schoolcraft 379,264 

1860 Report of Indian Office 254,300 

1865 do 294,574 

1870 Report of United States Census 313,712 

1875 do 305,068 

1876 do 291,882 

1877 do . 276,540 

1878 do 276,595 

1879 do 278,628 

1880 do 322,534 

1881 do ... 328,258 

1882 Report of Indian Office 326,039 

1883 do 331,972 

1884 do 330,776 

1885 do 344,064 

1886 do, 334,735 

1887 do : 243,299 

1888 do 246,036 

1889 do 250,483 

1890 Report of United States Census 248,253 

1891 Report of Indian Office 246,834 

1892 do 248,340 

1893 do 249,366 

1894 do 251,907 

1895 do 248,340 

1896 do 248,354 

1897 do 248,813 

1898 do 262,965 

1899 do ... ^ 267,905 

1900 do 270,544 

1901 do 269,388 

1902 do 270,238 

1903 do 263,233 

1904 do 274,206 

1905 do 284,079 

1906 do . . 291,581 

1907 do 298,472 

1908 do 300,412 

1909 do 300,545 

1910 do 304,950 

1911 do 322,715 

1912 do 327,425 

1913 do 330,639 



TWO POINTS OF VIEW 



23 



Table 2. — Indian population of the United States, exclusive of 
Alaska, June 30, 1913 
(Figures compiled from reports of Indian School superintendents, supplemented 
by information from 1910 census for localities in which no Indian Office representa- 
tive is located.) 



Grand total 



330,639 



Five Civilized Tribes, including freedmen and intermarried whites 101,216 

By blood 75,253 

By Intermarriage 2,582 

Freedmen 23,381 

Exclusive of Five Civilized Tribes 229,423 



Grand total 



330,639 



Indian Population by States and Tekritories, 1913 



Alabama 

Arizona 

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

District of Columbia . 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine . . . 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 



909 
41,505 
460 
16,513 
870 
152 
5 
68 
600 
95 
4,089 
188 
279 
365 
1,345 
234 
780 
892 
55 
688 
7,512 
11,338 
1,253 
313 



Montana 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Hampshire 
New Jersey .... 

New York 

New Mexico 
North Carolina . 
North Dakota . . 
Ohio 



11,331 

3,890 

7,756 

34 

168 

6,029 

21,725 

7,945 

8,538 

127 

Oklahoma 117,274* 



Oregon 

Rhode Island . . 
South Carolina 
South Dakota. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Washington . . . 
West Virginia . 
Wisconsin .... 
Wyoming 



6,414 
284 
20,555 
20,555 
216 
702 
3,231 
26 
539 
11,335 
36 
9,930 
1,715 



It will be observed that between 1850 and 1887 there is wide difference 
of opinion as to the number of Indians. In 1886 there were 334,000 Indians, 
whereas in '87 the number is given as 243,000. This must be due to faulty 
enumeration, or to estimating rather than counting. The gradual increase 
from 1898 to 1913 is for the reason assigned, page 21. 

In the table presented by Commissioner Sells it will be observed that 
the Indians have made some progress along various industrial directions. 



* Includes 23,381 freedmen and 2,582 intermarried whites. 



24 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



As he has grouped under a total valuation of $22,238,242, all the horses, 
cattle, hogs and sheep raised by the Indians, it is difficult to compare 
this table with those of 1879-1881. I present tables of those years pre- 
pared long ago by the Board of Indian Commissioners and published by 
them February 1st, 1882. It will be seen that the number of acres under 
cultivation are about the same thirty-two years ago as at the present time. 
In 1881 there were over 2,000,000 head of stock owned by Indians. The 
value of sheep would reduce an average of $10 per head, horses and cattle 
would raise it. Some horses might be worth as high as $50, most of them 
would average $15. Cattle would range from $15 to $25 per head at that 
time. Mules would be higher, while hogs might be averaged at $8 per 
head, and sheep, $2. We might strike an average of $10 per head, which 
would amount to $20,000,000. In view of the present increased value of 
livestock, the $22,000,000 worth of property and livestock at the present 
time cannot amount to more than 2,000,000 head. (See page £9) 

I think the slight increase noted in the 1912 table is due to the progress 
of certain Indian tribes (notably the Navaho) and the increased money 
value per head of stock. It does not mean that the Indians own more 
"live" property today than they did in 1881. 

All of this, it is understood, is no reflection on the Honorable Com- 
missioner or his able assistants. It merely indicates that the Indians, as 
a body, have not progressed to the extent that we would desire. 





Acreage agri- 
cultural lands 
cultivated by 
Indians 


Crops Raised by Indians 


Stock Owned by Indians 


Hay 
Tons 


Corn 
Bu. 


Wheat 
Bu. 


Oats and 
Barley Bu. 


Horses 


Cattle 


Swine 


Sheep 


*$22,238,242 


1912 


55S.503 


158,478 


1,525,334 


1,343,213 


1,001,504 


1904 


365,469 


405,629 


949,815 


750,788 


1,246,460 


295,466 


297,611 


40,898 


792,620 


1898 


352,217 


215,163 


1,339,444 


664,930 


599,665 


328,866 


214,474 


37,359 


1,041,315 



Commissioner Sells gives in his 1912 report only the value of the stock owned, whereas in 1904 and 1898 the 
number is given. 



CHAPTER II— THE U. S. INDIAN OFFICE IN 1913 



The Bureau of Indian Affairs was organized in 1824, and was under 
the War Department. On March 3, 1849, the Interior Department took 
over the management of the Indians. Since 1832, there have been 31 
Commissioners of Indian Affairs. The longest tenure of office was that 
held by Honorable Wm. A. Jones. 

The present Commissioner is Honorable Cato Sells of Texas, who 
took charge June 4, 1913. Mr. Sells has already inaugurated a new and 
progressive policy and his work is highly commended by every person 
having the welfare of the Indians at heart. (1) A splendid tribute has 
been paid him by M. K. Sniff en, Esq., Corresponding Secretary of the 
Indian Rights Association. Honorable Edgar B. Meritt, who has served 
faithfully for many years, is Assistant Commissioner. 

There are in addition to these high officers, Second Assistant Com- 
missioner, Honorable C. F. Hauke; and Honorable E. B. Linnen, Chief 
of the Inspection Service. I have always considered the Inspection Ser- 
vice the most important of all. It is therefore very satisfactory that we 
have as Chief of the Division, a man who has had twenty-five years' ex- 
perience as Inspector and former Secret Service official. And right here, 
I wish to state that if the Inspection Service had been efficient in past 
years, the horrible scandals in Minnesota, Oklahoma and elsewhere never 
would have occurred. 

There are Chiefs of Divisions in education, land and finance; Chief 
Supervisors of schools, health, industries, irrigation, forestry and con- 
struction. There are ten Supervisors and eight Special Agents serving 
under the Chiefs of Divisions. The roster of officers for this year contains 
the names of hundreds of conscientious and competent men and women 
scattered throughout the entire West and in Washington, whose sole pur- 
pose is to make of these Indians good American citizens. No one who 
has investigated the Indian situation as it presents itself today can do 
other than accord to all these persons the full meed of praise. They labor 
under great disadvantages. If they are radical, they call down upon their 
heads the wrath of those who covet Indian lands ; if they are conservative, 
the officials of various benevolent organizations accuse them of aiding 
and abetting the grafters in their nefarious work. If a single mistake is 
made — though unintentional — it is pointed out by some disgruntled 
person living in the Indian country. The complications, the situation, 



(1) Cato Sells— An Appreciation. Pamphlet; Philadelphia, 1914. 



26 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



and the opposition which they are called upon to face might well cause 
many of their critics to timidly decline to exchange places with them. 

I am entirely sincere in the above statement. Because it has been 
my unpleasant duty to point out needed reforms — not to use a stronger 
term — a few good people have imagined that I criticised the personnel 
of the Indian Service. That would be not only unkind, but also unjust, 
and in all that I have published, written or spoken, I have never thought 
to criticize any man or woman save those who were engaged in defrauding 
Indians. 

As will be presented in the final chapter of this book, the Indian Office 
machinery is efficient, and the personnel competent. The only question 
— and it is a great question — is whether our manufactured product is 
what it should be. Our machines are perfect, but do we run them properly? 

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Mr. Sells, issued a valuable 
report December 8, 1913. It covers the period from July 1, 1912, to June 
30, 1913. In order that we may grasp the full significance of the work 
being done by the Indian Office, and the magnitude of the problems con- 
fronting us, it is necessary to present some statistics, taken from this 
report. 

There are some 6,000 employees in the Indian Service, and 330,639 
Indians. Among the Indians are included a great many mixed bloods 
and persons who have married Indian women. This swells the total, as 
I have pointed out on Page 21. 

The property of these Indians is estimated by the Commissioner 
to be worth nearly $900,000,000. As competent observers in the State 
of Oklahoma claim the Indians have property there rising $500,000,000 
in value, it is my candid opinion, after considering the Navaho, Crow, 
Sioux, Yakima, Apache and all other lands, minerals, timber, etc., in the 
United States, that the sum is probably nearer $1,200,000,000. There 
is also in the United States Treasury some $48,848,744 in cash. 

There has been appropriated since the year 1881, and including the 
year 1914, this generous sum for the education, allotting, protection of 
Indians and the maintenance of the thousands of employees in the Indian 
Service, viz: — $263,623,004.01. This enormous sum properly and wisely 
expended from the year 1881 to the present time would have solved the 
Indian problem in the United States. But two great obstacles stood in the 
way — the politician in the East and the grafter in the West. The Honor- 
able Commissioner cannot state in his report that it is due to these two 
influences that our Indian history is, beyond question, the darkest page 
in the general American history, but such a statement is absolutely correct. 



INDIAN OFFICE IN 1913 



27 



Of these 330,000 Indians, 180,000 have received farms, or as the 
Indian Office calls them, allotments. 34,000,000 acres have been used for 
this purpose and there remain 39,000,000 acres. The Commissioner 
states that the timber held by Indians is worth $80,000,000. 

Since 1876 the Government has spent $80,000,000 for schools and 
education, and there are now 223 Indian day schools on or near Indian 
communities; 76 boarding-schools on reservations and 35 non-reservation 
schools. There are 65,000 Indian children, and all go to school save 17,500 
who are either defectives or unprovided for. 

There are 25,000 Indians suffering from tuberculosis; yet there are 
but 300 beds in all the Indian hospitals. This is a condition that would 
not be tolerated outside of an Indian community in the United States, 
for twenty -four hours. Thirty-two per cent of the Indian deaths are due 
to pulmonary tuberculosis as against 12.02 per cent among the white 
people of the United States. 60,000 Indians suffer from trachoma. This eye 
disease was introduced by the lower class of European immigrants and it 
spread throughout nearly every Indian community. 

"I find that the Indians have more than 6,000,000 acres of irrigable 
land, approximately 9,000,000 acres of other agricultural lands, more than 
50,000,000 acres grazing lands, and that the Government has ex- 
pended approximately $10,000,000 in connection with Indian irrigation 
projects. 

"Many able-bodied Indians who have valuable lands are wholly 
or partially without seeds, teams, implements, and other equipment to 
utilize properly such lands. This is particularly true in several reservations 
where large sums of public or tribal funds have been used in constructing 
irrigation systems, and is in part the reason why such large areas of ir- 
rigable and other agricultural lands are not under cultivation. 

"The valuable grazing lands of the Indians offer unusual oppor- 
tunities for increasing the meat supply of the country, at the same time 
furnishing a profitable employment for the Indians as well as ulitizing 
their valuable grazing lands. During the last year the Indians cultivated 
less than 600,000 acres of their vast area of agricultural lands. 

"It shall be my purpose to attempt to procure reimbursable appro- 
priations so as to advance to the Indians needed agricultural equipment 
in order that they may make beneficial use of their resources and become 
self-supporting and progressive citizens. These reimbursable appro- 
priations, if procured and properly used, will result in ultimately decreasing 
the gratuity appropriations for Indians."* 



* Sells' Report, 1913. 



28 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Commissioner Sells very wisely emphasizes agricultural work, stock- 
raising and cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. 
He calls attention to the enormous number of lands leased by the Indians 
to white men, for agricultural purposes. 

One of the most interesting and illuminating sections in the report 
is, to my mind, the table number 7: "General data for each Indian reserv- 
ation, under what agency or school, tribes occupying or belonging to it, 
area not allotted or specially reserved, and authority for its establishment, 
to Nov. 3, 1913." 

A study of this table indicates that tracts of these lands have been 
sold under various acts of Congress. The statements appear: "Open 
to settlement 1,449,268 acres" or, "1,061,500 acres were open to settle- 
ment." All this indicates that enormous tracts have been sold to settlers, 
or disposed of by the Government after the Indians had been allotted. 
This policy has been persistently carried on in the State of Oklahoma, 
although I have repeatedly urged not only the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs, but also the Commissioner of the Five Civilized Tribes to conserve 
some of these lands. I have contended, also, that the Indians are not 
properly protected in their property rights, and many of them are becoming 
paupers; that large tracts of land should be reserved by the Government 
in order that each dispossessed or pauperized Indian should be entitled to 
a small home at some future time. The policy of disposing of enormous 
tracts of grazing and agricultural land is extremely short-sighted. 

I have been told, when calling attention of Commissioner Wright, 
or the Indian Office, to the fact that some of these surplus lands should 
be conserved, that under the law, this cannot be done. The land is tribal 
property, or by act of Congress on such and such a date the lands were 
ordered sold. There is always authority for these sales, and no one can 
question it. But the policy continues, and to me appears very pernicious. 
Certain Indians on some of our reservations have either disposed of their 
holdings, or been swindled out of them. If none of the surplus lands are 
retained, there will be nothing available for these Indians, and they will 
soon become homeless paupers. TVe have an illustration of that in Cali- 
fornia. There we permitted the Indians to lose their property, or to be 
evicted. In recent years we have spent large sums of money purchasing 
tracts of irrigated land to provide homes for the very Indians we per- 
mitted to lose their homesteads. Certainly this is a very short-sighted and 
unbusiness-like policy. 

The progress of the Indian the past year in arts and industries has 
been fairly satisfactory. Most of the Superintendents report increased 



INDIAN OFFICE IN 1913 



29 



industry on the part of their wards. The Commissioner presents nearly 
200 pages of tabulated statistics covering progress and values. The Indians 
have not worked in the same proportion as have white people for various 
reasons. I shall set forth these in detail in a subsequent Chapter. 

RESULTS OF INDIAN LABOR 



Indians Exclusive of Five Civilized Tribes 





1879 


1880 


1881 




24,270 


27,105 


29,558 


Number of acres cultivated , 


157,056 


168,340 


205,367 


Number of bushels of wheat raised 


328,637 


408,812 


451,479 


Number of bushels of corn raised 


643,286 


604,103 


517,642 


Number of bushels of oats and barley raised 


189,054 


224,899 


343,444 


Number of bushels of vegetables raised 


390,698 


375,843 


488,792 


Number of tons of hay cut 


48,333 


75,745 


76,763 


Number of horses owned 


199,732 


211,981 


188,402 


Number of cattle owned 


68,894 


78,939 


80,684 




Qfl COT 






Number of sheep owned 


863,525 


864,216 


977,017 


Number of houses occupied 


11,634 


12,507 


12,893 


Number of Indian houses built during the vear 


1,211 


1,639 


1,409 


Number of Indian apprentices who have been learning 










185 


358 


436 


Five Civilized Tribes 


Number of acres cultivated 


273,000 


314,396 


348,000 


Number of bushels of wheat raised 


565,400 


336,424 


105,000 


Number of bushels of corn raised 


2,015,000 


2,346,042 


616,000 


Number of bushels of oats and barley raised 


200,000 


124,568 


74,300 


Number of bushels of vegetables raised 


336,700 


595,000 


305,000 


Number of tons of hav cut 


176,500 


125,500 


161,500 


Number of bales of cotton raised 


10,530 


16,800 




Number of horses owned 


45,500 


51,453 


64,600 


Number of mules owned 


5,500 


5,138 


6,150 


Number of cattle owned 


272,000 


297,040 


370,000 


Number of swine owned ; . . . 


190,000 


400,282 


455,000 


Number of sheep owned 


32,400 


34,034 


33,400 



At the conclusion of Chapters upon health, education, irrigation, 
etc., I have presented bibliographies. Readers will obtain a good idea 
of the progress made along various directions if they will consult some 
of the writers' reports, speeches, etc. 

The Red Man, published at Carlisle Indian School; the Chilocco 
School Journal, and papers printed at Haskell, Pine Ridge, and Hampton 
all contain many practical articles upon arts and industries and kindred 
topics. For these journals the Indian Service officials frequently write 



30 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



articles, and in them speeches and addresses upon Indian topics by promi- 
nent men are often reproduced. 

These journals are creditable publications and do much toward en- 
lightening the boys and girls as to progress in other schools — thus acting 
as an incentive to further effort. It is unfortunate that the public at 
large is not familiar with them. Were they generally circulated, much 
ignorance of Indian education would disappear. 




MODERN INDIAN HOUSE 
Although on the Allegheny reservation, N. Y., this is the common type 
of house occupied by better-class Indians in many States 



CHAPTER III. THE INDIANS TODAY AND 
HON. E. E. AYER'S REPORT 

We have seen in the preceding chapter that the Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs, his assistants, Supervisors, Inspectors and Special Agents 
stand at the head of a very great Bureau; and that under them are thou- 
sands of employees. The diagram on the following page is an outline plan 
of the entire Indian Service, beginning with that great body, the Congress 
of the United States, and passing through its various ramifications down 
to the amalgamation of the educated, competent Indian into the body of 
American citizens. 

This comprehensive table was published by Honorable F. E. Farrell, 
Superintendent of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency, in the school pub- 
lication The Carrier Pigeon, in December, 1912. 

We should first realize the tremendous difference between the Indians 
of 1850 and those of 1914. A comparison of the Indian reservation map 
of 1879 and the map of 1913 will give readers some idea of the tremendous 
changes in Indian life in this country. In the short space of fifty years, 
the entire West has been transformed from an Indian country to a white 
man's country. The problem of these Indians is today, not so much an 
ethnologic study, as it is a citizenship and humanitarian problem. 

Although there are a few scattered bands of Indians on the public 
domain (notably Papago and Navaho, and a few other bands) more than 
nine-tenths of these people are under direct Federal or State supervision. 
As I have remarked elsewhere, a great many of the Navaho and certain 
other Indians still keep up tribal customs and continue in the faith of their 
ancestors, but for the greater part, the Indians are, and should be, con- 
sidered a part of our body politic. Before discussing some of the larger 
tribes, and certain phases of Indian history in the broad sense, we should 
review the Indian situation as it presents itself generally in the United 
States. 

Beginning with the far East, we should glance at the thousand or more 
native Americans living in Maine and New Brunswick. 

Several hundred Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indians are located 
at Oldtown, Maine, and on the St. Croix River above Princeton, Maine. 
These are of superior intelligence, and all are self-supporting. There is 
some drunkenness, but it is not prevalent, as among some of our western 
tribes. 



32 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 

DIAGRAM OF THE INDIAN SERVICE 



Congress of United States 
Statutes. United States 
The President 

Secretary of Interior 

Regulations. Indian Service 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
District Supervisors 



Non-reservation Schools 
Reservation Agencies 
Agent. Superintendent 



Agency Office Work 


Agency Field Work 


Boarding school 


Inheritance: 


Individual Indian Money: 


Education 


Family history 


Purchases — Animals' feed, im- 


Health 


Hearings, reports, findings, etc. 


plements, buildings 


Academic and 


Land Patents: 


Industries: 


industrial training 


Sales — P. 


Care of farm, stock, implements. 


Recreation 


Leasing 


methods, seed selection, meetings, 


Religious and 


Negotiations, bonds, rentals, re- 


etc. 


moral instruction 


ports, authorities, etc. 


Health and Sanitation: 


Employees — social 


Individual Indian Money: 


Care of home, premises, Matron, 


relations 


Banking, bonds of bank, authori- 


Farmer and Physician 


Property 


ties, disbursements, reports, etc. 


Law and Order: 


Supplies 


Industrial reports, statistics, agricul- 


Suppression liquor traffic, dances, 


Outing system 


tural fairs, etc. 


peyote feasts, customs, care of 




Finance : 


minors, etc. 




Agency and School funds, appor- 


Forestry : 


Dav School 


tionments, disbursements, reports, 


Sale of timber, permits, fires, etc. 




etc. 


Irrigation: 


Public School 


Purchases : 


Leasing: 


Amalgamation 


Advertisements, 


Negotiations, improvements, col- 




Vouchers, etc. 


lection rentals, appraisement, etc. 




Property : 


Land: 




Employees : 


Sales, appraisements, allotments 




Records, reports 


Construction: 




Tribal Funds, Interest 


Specifications, superintending con- 






struction, repairs, insuring 





The Indians are under the jurisdiction of the State of Maine. The 
Penobscots own all the islands in the Penobscot River between Oldtown 
and Millinockett. They are, for the most part, guides, farmers, carpenters, 
clerks and lumbermen. Many of them earn excellent wages — from 
$2 to $5 per day. I saw no evidences of poverty. The people are intelligent 
and of good character. Consumption is not common, and trachoma cases 
are rare. 



THE INDIANS TODAY 



33 



The reason for the splendid condition of the Penobscot and Passa- 
maquoddy Indians should not be lost upon our officials and Indian Com- 
mittees in authority in Congress. 

They have been surrounded by a high class of white people, and have 
been left alone to develop and progress. While they have been protected 
by the State of Maine, no discrimination has been made against them, as 
in the case of Indians in Oklahoma, Minnesota, California and elsewhere. 
They enjoy the same citizenship as is conferred upon Whites, and it does 
not consist of "paper promises," but is real and effective. Theirs is no 
story of dishonesty and disease. 

The past summer, while on an archaeological expedition on the St. 
John River, I visited three villages occupied by Malecite Indians, in New 
Brunswick, Canada. All of them are well situated, one at the mouth of 
the Tobique River; another at Edmunston; and a third near Woodstock. 
While these Indians are poor, there is no general pauperism, and their 
general health is better than among the Indians I have visited in our 
United States (exclusive of Maine) . 

In one respect the plans followed by the Canadian officials are superior 
to ours, and evince more ability (or rather stability) in the handling of the 
Indians. Instead of allotting these Indians, giving them deeds to valuable 
property, permitting them to be swindled by unscrupulous white persons, 
and then spending years in profitless litigation, in an attempt to make 
grafters return property taken from the Indians, these Canadians have 
continued the reservation system under a modified form. The Indians 
own their tracts of land, as with us, but do not hold deeds, or trust patents 
to same, therefore the lands cannot be sold or mortgaged; thus the in- 
centive to fraud is removed. 

The Indians serve as farmers, guides, carpenters and fishermen. 
Most of them are Catholics, and there is a priest located at the Tobique 
village. He lives among them and encourages them in various arts. 

The census gives a few Indians as residing in our eastern states, but 
they are white people in every way, save color. 

To discover the next body of Indians exceeding more than three or 
four hundred, we must go down South where we find a few* bands of Chero- 
kees in Swain and Jackson Counties, North Carolina; and scattered through- 
out Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama there are 1100 or 1200 residing on 
what was originally a part of the habitat of this great nation. 

Some of the Iroquois still reside in western New York, notably in 
settlements not far from Buffalo. These Indians, as in the case of the 
North Carolina Cherokees, are chiefly mixed-bloods, have adopted our 



THE INDIANS TODAY 



35 



customs, live in fairly comfortable houses and are in no need of Government 
supervision. Among the Iroquois of New York, the percentage of tuber- 
culosis and other diseases was so low as to be practically nil. In one of the 
recent Government reports it is given as but a fraction over one per cent. 

There has recently developed agitation seeking to break up 
their reservation. This is most unfortunate, as the tracts are small; the 
Indians are doing well and desire to be let alone. They deserve to remain 
in peaceful possession of their old-time homes. 

All of the remaining Indians east of the Mississippi, and south of the 
Great Lakes need not enter into our discussion. Save for a noticeable 
Indian color in the case of some individuals, the bulk of them have ceased 
to be real Indians. The New York Iroquois, in recent times, have made 
creditable progress in arts, and have produced a number of prominent 
men and women. A large number of them serve in responsible positions 
and so far as they are concerned there is no Indian problem. We may, 
therefore, eliminate the eastern half of the United States, with the exception 
of Wisconsin, Michigan and Florida. 

In Florida we have the descendants of the Seminoles, estimated at 
600, and are an offshoot of the Creeks, or Muskokis. These still cling 
to their ancient homes in the Everglades, and have withstood all attempts 
to make of them either educated Indians or agency Indians. During Mr. 
Leupp's administration, he proposed to me that I go to Florida and spend 
a winter cultivating the friendship of these Indians and see if it were not 
possible to persuade them to send their children to school. I was unable 
to carry this mission into effect, but I understand that recently the Gov- 
ernment sent a Special Agent there, who has compelled a number of the 
children to attend school. The draining of the Everglades is now well under 
way, and soon the hunting and fishing-grounds of these people will be very 
much restricted. They have always been self-supporting and they merit 
consideration, and should have our help. It is to be hoped that before the 
ditching of the Everglades is completed, these Indians will be properly 
provided for. This is a subject I would commend to the attention of the 
Federal authorities. 

In Wisconsin we have quite a large number of Indians at the present 
time, located on reservations, or clustered about schools. These number 
9,930, and Wisconsin ranks ninth in the entire country in point of Indian 
population. Wisconsin is the first State, on our inspection tour from the 
East to the West, wherein we find a large body of Indians still in the tran- 
sition period. They belong to the following bands: — the Ojibwa (Chip- 
pewa), Menominee, Potawatomi, Oneida, Winnebago and a few others. 



36 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The Ojibwa are by far the most numerous, amounting to, approximately, 
two-thirds of the entire number. Whether all of these five tribes originally 
belonged in Wisconsin, is a question which may be deferred to the eth- 
nologist. We are treating of the State in recent times, as I have previously 
remarked in this book. Therefore that great question — the origin of these 
Indians and their presence in the State of Wisconsin — is not our concern. 
They are here located at the present time, and, in general, are making 
fair progress. 

Honorable Edward E. Aver, of the Board of Indian Commissioners, 
last year, made an extended investigation of the timber problem confront- 
ing the Menominee Indians. Mr. Aver has kindly furnished me with an 
advance copy of his report in order that I might present a synopsis. Seldom 
has an investigation been conducted under more auspicious circumstances. 
Mr. Aver took with him a number of persons, including a practical lum- 
berman of wide experience. As the Menominee problem is one concerned 
with timber, rather than land values, it was very important that the work 
be thoroughly done. Mr. Aver covered the entire reservation in his report. 

"The Menominee Indians originally occupied the greater part of the 
State of Wisconsin. They ranged from what is now the site of Milwaukee 
north along the west shores of Lake Michigan to Menominee, North 
Michigan, and west to the Wisconsin River and Black River. Along Green 
Bay and the Fox River Valley were their principal settlements, and on 
the shores of Green Bay they first met the white man, when Father Mar- 
quette, La Salle and the first French descended the Great Lakes from the 
Canada settlement on exploration voyages of early days. On the reservation 
at Keshena is now the successor of the first French Mission established by 
Marquette at Green Bay. 

"A woods Indian, the Menominee was a striking figure, of generally' six 
feet and over in height, a giant in strength. Few in numbers when compared 
with other great tribes, his bravery and fighting qualities enabled him to 
hold his own with surrounding tribes, Potawatomies on the south, Sauk 
and Fox and Winnebago on southwest, the great Dakota or Sioux natives 
to west and Chippewa on the shore of Superior to the north, and the 
Hurons to the east 'of them. Their word once given could be relied upon. 
The French, English and American nations, each in turn, made treaties 
with them and all were faithfully kept. The Menominee was a peaceful 
nation, seldom the aggressor, but mighty in wrath, once justified in 
taking the warpath. From early times these Indians have been the white 
man's friend. In our Civil War many soldiers were recruited from their 
band, and today here exists the only Indian G. A. R. Post in America. 



THE INDIANS TODAY 



37 



Their pursuits are farming, lumbering and manufacture of lumber 
products. At Neopit is the seat of a large milling-plant industry, capitalized 
for one million dollars. It has a sawmill with an output of forty million 
feet yearly, a planing-mill of twenty million capacity and carries a stock 
on hand of forty million feet of lumber, also laths, shingles, etc. The town 
numbers about one thousand men, women and children, and here may be 
seen the advanced Indian living in his modern cottage surrounded with 




U. S. INDIAN SCHOOL CHILOCCO, OKLA. 
A glimpse in one of the rooms of the Department of Domestic Art. Students making Uniforms and 

other dresses for school use 

all the home comforts of modern life and partaking of the same social 
enjoyments as his white brother. A modern day school and a mission day 
school furnish education to his children, as does town life social instruc- 
tion to his home, and the mill industrial education to himself and sons. 

"At Keshena is the seat of the Agency, head of administrative affairs, 
and two large boarding-schools, Government and mission, with combined 
capacity for 300 children. Scattered out from Keshena for a radius of 



LEWIS TEWANIMA 

the 10,000-meter run at the Olympic Games in Stockholm Tewanima 
won second place. He is a full-blood Hopi Indian and is 
considered America's greatest long-distant runner 
Educated at Carlisle 




JAMES THORPE 



World's Champion All-Round Athlete, Winner of the Pentathlon and 
the Decathlon, Stockholm, 1912 
Educated at Carlisle 



40 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



twelve miles is a scene of agricultural progress, Indian farmers whose 
efforts vary from farms of 5 to 80 acres, cleared, fenced and in 
various stages of improvement. 

" The tribal funds on deposit in the Treasury of the United States are 
approximately $2,000,000. gathered from fruits of their own toil and in 
the sale of their timber products. 

" The tribe numbers about 1700 souls. Statistics show about 575 able- 
bodied males, aged 18 years and over. Labor figures for the reserve 
show of this number an average of 264 adult Indians continuously employed 
the year round, earning in wages 891,630.47, not including subsistence. The 
greatest value of the Neopit operations is as a school of industry. Its 
value educationally, morally and civilly cannot be measured in dollars 
and cents." 

Mr. Aver found that the Government had erected a sawmill at Neopit. 
This mill sawed Indian timber exclusively. 

Some years ago the mill's operations were not satisfactory, there being 
extravagance in management. Since Mr. Nicholson was appointed, all 
of this has been remedied, and after liberal deductions for all expenses, 
the mill shows a profit of 8443,176.17 to the Menominee Indians (from 
July. 1910 to September 30, 1913). He found the mill employed a large 
number of Indian men, while other Indians found employment working 
with the logging crews in the woods. The null served a double purpose. 
Not only were the Indians employed and earned good wages, but they 
also received the benefits of the mill's earnings. 

There is practically no poverty on the reservation, and little sickness. 
The houses are clean and well kept. 

Mr. Ayer's exhaustive study of conditions led him to make several 
recommendations, one or two of which I append herewith : — 

"I recommend that two, four or six of the brightest young Indians 
on the Reservation be sent to Wisconsin State College of Agriculture at 
Madison to take a full course in forestry and scientific farming, that they 
may come back to the reservation equipped to teach the Indians who 
have elected to make farms. 

"I would also recommend that there be a company or tribal store at 
Neopit and a branch one at Keshena and that the goods shall be sold say on 
a basis of or 15 per cent, which would make the stores absolutely 

self-sustaining and the Indians would get the necessities of life much 
cheaper. These stores should also carry a stock of the ordinary agricul- 
tural tools that might be used and there should also be a bank, say with 



THE INDIANS TODAY 



41 



forty or fifty thousand dollars capital connected with the Neopit store, 
where the employees of the mill could get checks cashed. 

"Now, if they want to buy anything extraordinary, an agricultural tool 
or any other thing, or cash their check, they have got to go twenty miles 
away to Shawano for the purpose, and they are subjected to all the tempta- 
tions of the outside towns. I think everything ought to be supplied to the 
Indians on the reservation so that they would have as little necessity 
of leaving it as possible." 

A complaint had gained circulation to the effect that the mill was 
losing money and had been extravagantly managed. There were some 
grounds for this five years ago, but not during the past three years. A 
certain attorney, wishing to take over the management of tribal affairs, 
visited the Indians and, calling their attention to a few logs here and there, 
which had not been properly handled, persuaded the Indians to raise a 
sum of money to pay his expenses to Washington. Here he made com- 
plaints to the Commissioner and others. His presence on the reservation 
caused dissatisfaction. Ayer's investigation proved that the loss was 
nothing compared with the great financial benefits accruing to the Indians, 
through the mill's operation. 

I mention this at some length for the reason that Mr. Ayer's report 
was unjustly criticised by one or two persons who lent willing ears to 
the self-seeking attorney. 

His report covers all questions relating to farming, education, health, 
and the sale of timber to better advantage. The mill is a model of ef- 
ficiency, conserves the Indians' timber to the tribe's best interest, and 
similar mills should be conducted on other reservations. 

The amount of timber remaining to be cut is variously estimated 
at from 1,500,000,000 to 2,000,000,000 feet. It will thus be observed 
that the Menominee Indians are possessed of a very valuable property. 
The authorities should heed Mr. Ayer's suggestions, coming as they do, 
from a practical timber man of many years' experience. 

The greatest tracts of timber (aside from Menominee) are on Chippewa 
lands at Bad River and La Pointe. Some are exceedingly valuable. I 
addressed the Department and received assurance that the Commissioner 
was aware of the dangers of a "second White Earth." The following 
official communication (in part) is evidence that these Indians will be 
protected : — 

"Under the treaty of September 30, 1854 (10 Stats. L., 1109), 1063 
Indians within the La Pointe or Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin, have 
been allotted a total area of 8,387,068 acres. Approximately 45,000 acres 



42 



THE AMERICAN IX D I AX 



of surplus tribal land remain, authority for the allotment of which exists 
in the Act of February 11, 1901 (31 Stats. L., 766), as amended by the 
Act of March 2, 190? (34 Stats. L., 1217). Xothing is said in these acts 
about the allotment of timber lands and the remaining tribal lands within 
this reservation are very valuable for timber purposes, some of the eighty- 
acre tracts being estimated to yield approximately 830,000 for the timber 
alone. Other tracts containing but little timber are not desirable and 
an equitable division of the lands in allotment cannot be made under 
existing conditions. 

"Two factions exist in the tribe, one in favor of allotting under existing 
laws and the other in favor of selling the timber, distributing the proceeds 
per capita and thereafter allotting the lands to the unallotted Indians 
belonging on this reservation. 

"Appended hereto is the part of the Office file relating to this allot- 
ment correspondence, particularly the submission to the Department of 
the request for authority to procure agreements from the Indians to allot 
the lands under the existing laws with the understanding that the timber 
should be cut and sold for the benefit of the tribe at large." (File omitted 
in this book.) 

For several years there have been extensive cuttings of pine timber 
on the reservations at Bad River, Lac du Flambeau, Lac Court e Oreille, 
and Fond du Lac. The total amount cut on each of these reservations 
was as follows: Bad River. 57,183,770 feet; Lac du Flambeau, 23,049,110 
feet; Lac Courte Oreille. 4,268,050 feet: Fond du Lac, 13,128,775 feet. All 
of this timber was cut on allotments except 12,068,620 feet cut from un- 
patented lands of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, claimed by the State 
of Wisconsin as swamp lands, and 56,955 feet cut from tribal lands of the 
Bad River Reservation. 

A number of circular letters were addressed by me to persons living 
in Wisconsin, requesting information as to the condition of the Indians. 
It is known that not only is there vocational training in the schools, but 
also more or less higher educational training. One of my correspondents, 
a missionary, takes the view that there has been too much higher education 
of Indian children in his State, and it would be far better to confine the 
work to the teaching of trades and give no book instruction beyond the 
fundamentals. He thinks that the average Indian when educated beyond 
this point, is not willing to take his place as an ordinary workman. An- 
other gentleman, while expressing satisfaction with much that has been 
done, sums up the situation in the particular Indian community in which 
he resides as follows: "Too much red tape." 



THE INDIANS TODAY 



43 



The progress of these Indians while slow, is satisfactory. They do 
not present a sufficiently interesting problem for our study at the present 
time. It is safe to predict that within a generation, a full-blood Indian 
in Wisconsin will be a rarity. They may continue to live an indefinite 
length of time in various communities where they are now settled, but 
Government supervision (save possibly on the Menominee reservation) 
may be safely withdrawn in the near future. 

In Michigan the larger number of Indians are Chippewa (Ojibwa), 
with a sprinkling of Ottawa and Potawatomi. Schools care for a majority 
of their children, and the adults are, for the most part, quite self-supporting. 
They may be dismissed from our pages. 

Proceeding westward to the headquarters of the Mississippi, we have 
the great Minnesota region which is generally covered in my four chapters 
upon White Earth reservation. West of the Mississippi River, there are 
very few Indians in that great area of Texas (but 702), and in Iowa, Mis- 
souri, Arkansas and Louisiana; the numbers range from 313 to 780. 
These areas may be set aside as containing such a preponderance of white 
population as to render those of Indian blood an extreme minority. Of 
the mountain states, Colorado contains but 870 Indians, Wyoming 1715, 
and the others 4,000 to 11,000. The great Indian populations are, there- 
fore, confined to nine states. Ten states contain from 800 to 8,000. The 
remaining twenty-nine contain but a fraction of the entire Indian 
body, and they are now more white than Indian. 

Texas, in spite of its enormous size, is interesting in that but a handful 
of Indians are in evidence. In 1850 the Indian population was considerable. 
Nelson Lee's book of captivity among the Comanches(l) gives an idea of 
the extent of the roving bands of Comanches and Apaches infesting the 
State in early days. The hostility of the Texas people was such that 
through the organization of the famous Texas Rangers those Indians were 
either driven out of the State or exterminated. Very little consideration 
was shown them, and I can find no evidence of any general effort being 
put forward to protect these Indians in their rights or place them upon 
reservations or establish schools among them. Our troops were frequently 
sent into Texas, and as late as 1875, roving bands of Indians infested the 
western part of the State and carried on raids into old Mexico, or stole 
stock from Texas ranches. As to the number of Indians in the State of 
Texas just prior to the Civil War, there seems to be no reliable statistics. 

The Texas tribes were of the general Caddoan stock, of which the 
Comanche appear to have been the largest and strongest branch. These 



(1) Three Years Among the Comanches; Albany, 1859. 



44 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Indians ranged through the valleys of the Brazos and Colorado and ex- 
tended their conquests to the land of the Apache, along the Rio Grande, 
to the west. They were essentially buffalo Indians and were not agri- 
culturalists, but presented the purest nomadic type found in the south- 
west. This must not be misunderstood. The Navaho are nomadic to a 
certain extent, but their range has been limited. Moreover they possess 
flocks and herds. There is no evidence that the Comanche ever domesti- 
cated sheep, goats, and cattle, although they frequently obtained stock 
in their raids against the Texans. As they were continually on the move 
following the buffalo in its migrations, or planning war parties against 
the white people and Mexicans alike, they were pure nomads, as stated 
above. 

Years ago, during the height of Indian troubles in Texas, a law was 
passed expelling red men from that State. Indians entering the State 
were subjected to fine, imprisonment or expulsion. The feeling against 
the race was very bitter, and Indians in Texas never received just 
treatment. 

A few of them were, in later years, taken to Indian Territory, but most 
of the Comanches, it is safe to affirm, were killed in action. Although the 
Texas rangers were superiorly armed and better mounted, the Apaches 
continued their warfare from the earliest times down to about 1870, when 
their power was permanently broken. They were very cruel and vindictive. 
Nelson Lee's narrative, to which I have referred, is one of the most inter- 
esting Indian captivities ever brought to my attention. It presents a vivid 
picture of the Comanche as they were during the period preceding our 
war with Mexico. 



CHAPTER IV. THE OJIBWA OF MINNESOTA 



The Ojibwa commonly known as Chippewa, constitute one of the great 
divisions of the Algonkin stock. We shall have much to say concerning 
their ethnology, in a subsequent volume. But following the scope accepted 
for this book, we shall treat of the Ojibwa as one of the great Indian tribes 
(numerically), at the present time and one much "advanced" along the 
white man's trail. 

The year 1850 found the Ojibwa, or Chippewa, Indians located as 
they are at the present time, with some exceptions. A few in Wisconsin 
and on the shores of Lake Superior; some at Turtle Mountain in North 
Dakota, but most of them living in the State of Minnesota at Leech Lake, 
White Earth, Red Lake and Cass Lake. The number of these Indians 
in the year 1851 was about 28,000. In 1884 the entire number is given 
as 16,000. In 1905, the "Handbook of American Indians" estimates 
that there are 15,000 in British America and 17,144 in the United States. 

Those who wish to trace the migrations, and study the interesting 
customs and folklore of these people would do well to consult an interesting 
book written by an Ojibwa, Mr. William W, Warren. The manuscript 
of this work was prepared between 1850 and 1853. Warren's mother was 
three-fourths Ojibwa and his father a white man. He died of tuberculosis 
June 1, 1853, and the Minnesota Historical Society did not publish his 
history of the nation until 1885. Clearly, Warren was the most prominent 
of later-day Ojibwa; he had served in the Minnesota Legislature, and 
he was possessed of a brilliant mind and would doubtless have made his 
mark in the world had he lived. 

In the early '50's and '60's a few of the fur companies still did business 
in northern Minnesota. It was no uncommon sight to see the "Red River 
ox carts" bringing supplies into northern Minnesota, or carrying loads 
of furs to the nearest Hudson Bay post, in the Red River valley to the 
north. The Ojibwa came in contact with the French-Canadian element 
during the activities of the fur trade, and had little in common with, or 
met few Americans, until white settlers from the East increased in numbers 
in the State of Minnesota. 

While this and the succeeding chapter are confined chiefly to White 
Earth, a description of Leech Lake and Red Lake reservations should 
not be omitted. 

The Ojibwa Indians living on Red Lake have not been allotted, but 
hold their land in common. The pine timber possessed by them is valued 




HONORABLE GABE E. PARKER, CHOCTAW 
Registrar of the United States Treasury 



THE OJIBWA OF MINNESOTA 



47 



at several million dollars. Most of the cabins are grouped about the shores 
of Red Lake, and the Indians while not well-to-do, are far from pauperism. 
It has not been necessary to ration them as in the case of White Earth, 
where the Superintendent, Major John R. Howard, last winter fed 762 
Indians. The reasons for this are set forth in succeeding pages. 

The Ojibwa at Leech Lake have valuable white pine, but this has been 
cut under Government supervision and the dreadful scandals occurring 
at White Earth have been avoided. At Leech Lake, Red Lake, and Cass 
Lake, the Indians live by working in the lumber camps, agriculture, fishing, 
and some serve in other branches of industry. They have, however, 
depended entirely too much upon interest payments made by the Govern- 
ment. Much of the educating, training and support of these Indians is 
paid for by the interest accruing to the Indian on a fund of several million 
dollars in the United States Treasury and belonging to the Ojibwa of 
Minnesota. It has been pointed out by other observers, and emphasized 
in addresses at Lake Mohonk and elsewhere, that this fund is a curse rather 
than a blessing. The mixed-blood element, controlled by a few shrewd 
French-Canadians, wish to secure possession of it; attorneys are attracted 
by its presence; the young men and women, in some cases, will not work 
since they expect to be supported out of the fund. It should be divided up 
per capita among the Indians. The Government should control, or super- 
vise, the portions belonging to Indians known to be incompetent or drunk- 
ards, and instead of paying them money, give them groceries and clothing 
until their portion of the fund is exhausted. Councils should be called 
on all reservations, or at central points, on allotment groups, and the 
Indians made to understand that with the payment of this money, respon- 
sibility on the part of the United States ceases, — excepting in the case of 
incompetents, referred to above. 

With the dreadful lesson of White Earth, staring everyone in the face, 
it is incomprehensible that Red Lake should be allotted, and the timber 
issued to the Indians. Yet there was a determined effort to bring about 
such a result, and it was only through opposition of the Indian Office, and 
Inspector E. B. Linnen and others that the steal was prevented. 

The Indians live in frame and log dwellings. The birch-bark wigwam 
is rare — save for summer residence. Ordinary "store clothes" are worn 
by all persons. The birch-bark canoe still persists, and there are some 
survivals of ancient customs. Such a majority of the people speak English 
and live like the lower classes of Caucasians, that the bands may be con- 
sidered less Indian than the Sioux, and much less primitive than the Navaho. 
The photographs prove this statement. 



48 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Let us look backward and compare conditions of the '80's and of 
190o-'12. 

Rev. Joseph A. Gilfillan was a missionary in northern Minnesota 
for twenty-five years. He became entirely familiar with the Ojibwa lan- 
guage and spoke it fluently. He is a quiet, modest man. The Indians told 
me of numbers of heroic actions on his part during the twenty-five years 
he labored in and about White Earth reservation. During the spring of 
one year, when the ice on the lake was breaking up, two white men were 




BUILDINGS PIXE POINT. WHITE EARTH, MINNESOTA 
Built and formerly occupied by Rev. James Gilfillan as a school. Now used as Government School 



in a most perilous situation, and although there were larger and stronger 
men standing about, no one would venture out to save the lives of the 
unfortunates. Gilfillan went out — although he frequently broke through 
the ice — and managed to bring both men ashore. 

On another occasion, he was held up by several armed men, sent out 
by the mixed-blood and French-Canadian element, who opposed his 
missionary labors. In fact, one of the men presented a gun and threatened 
to shoot him if he continued in his determination to preach to the Indians 
that Sunday. The above incidents (and more could be related) give an 



THE OJIBWA OF MINNESOTA 



49 



idea of the character of this worthy man. He has never been engaged 
in any of the disputes regarding the deplorable situation among the Min- 
nesota Ojibwa, and it required considerable urging on my part to persuade 
him to testify before the Congressional Investigation Committee of which 
Honorable James Graham was Chairman. 

Rev. Gilfillan, largely at his own expense, built splendid school- 
houses, missions and chapels at Pine Point, White Earth and Twin Lakes. 
His mission was successful and he had at one time several hundred Indians 
in attendance in both school and church, and a corps of efficient workers. 
I think it is correct to state that there were more church members on 
White Earth reservation during Gilfillan's administration than at the 
present time. Certainly the moral tone was far above that which obtains 
today. It is sad to relate that Gilfillan's missions were discontinued, and 
the buildings where he devoted so many years of unselfish labor were 
taken over by the United States Government at far less than their actual 
value. 

Rev. Gilfillan's statement made to me, and accepted by the Congres- 
sional Committee* and published in their report is as follows : — 

Washington, D. C, Dec. 9, 1910 

"Hon. Warren K. Moorehead, 
Andover, Mass. 

"My dear Sir: Your favor of 8th instant has just reached me, and it 
gives me pleasure to answer your inquiries. The first is, 4 While there was 
much suffering when you were missionary at White Earth, Pine Point, 
Twin Lakes, etc., is it not your opinion that there was less swindling than 
at the present time?' 

"In answer I would say that I do not consider there was any suffering 
at all to speak of from June, 1873, when I went there, till along toward 
1898, when I left. The Indians raised garden produce; many had fine 
fields of wheat. They could gather all the wild rice they wanted to; fish 
were abundant. Some of the men made two or three hundred dollars by 
the muskrat hunt each spring. They made a good deal by furs. Some 
hunters killed as many as forty deer in a winter. They made maple sugar. 
They had all the berries they could gather. From all these varied sources 
they made a good living. They had unlimited fuel at their doors. They 
were rent free. I have heard people say, and I believe it, that there was 
not nearly so much poverty or suffering as in a white city, where the poor 

* Hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Expenditures in the Interior Department, 
House of Representatives. House Resolutions, 103, March 6, 1912. 



50 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



have only one resource — wages. If they had wished to raise a little more 
vegetables, as potatoes, corn, etc., they could have lived on the fat of the 
land. They were in those days happy, peaceful, and contented com- 
munities. To the above-enumerated sources of income of theirs I omitted 
to mention that there passed through my hands for them, given by the 
Episcopal mission, more than $130,000 in money for all imaginable pur- 
poses — from spectacles to building churches for them and supporting 
their children in schools. There were several thousand dollars' worth 
of clothing sent me for them by charitable people. There was no crime 
during the twenty -five years I was there, although for many years there 
was not even Indian police. There was no instance of holdup or robbery, 
not to speak of greater offenses. Life and property were absolutely safe 
— far safer than in any white community I know. None of them would 
ever have thought of molesting anyone. They were in those days happy, 
peaceful, harmless people. As to how the present state contrasts with 
that, you have been out there lately and know better than I. 

"As to your second question, whether there was less swindling than 
at the present time, I would say that then there was none at all. The 
Indians had no lands to sell; no property of any kind except their little 
patches of gardens, their little furs, wild rice, etc. There was nothing to 
tempt the cupidity of the white man. As to how that contrasts with the 
present, you have been out there and know better than I. 

"But I ought to qualify this by saying that for sorrie years in the 
nineties there was a great deal of swindling from them unwittingly per- 
petrated by the Government, for an account of which I refer you to my 
inclosed printed statement made to Mohonk Conference in 1898, which 
you will find on Page 13 of the inclosed pamphlet. And that you may 
know that the statements made therein are true, I may inform you that 
the then Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hon. William Jones, who went 
to the ground and personally investigated, endorsed upon that statement: 
4 1 find that the statements herein made by Mr. Gilfillan are in the main 
correct.' This indorsement does not appear on the copy I send you, but 
is on other copies. To briefly specify the heads under which this swindling 
was done: it was; First, by billeting upon them three Chippewa commis- 
sioners at $39 a day for the three, making with their clerks, etc., $88 a 
day, the Indians said; said commissioners being mostly politicians out 
of a job, and their positions almost sinecures. Secondly, by repeated 
farcial 'estimating' of their pine; three several 'estimations' (pretended), 
covering a period of perhaps nine years; two of said estimations costing 
$360,000, and then done dishonestly in the interests of those who bought 



THE OJIBWA OF MINNESOTA 



51 



the pine, whereas the real worth of the work, done honestly, was only 
$6,000. Thirdly, by cutting green pine, but paying for it as 4 dead and 
down' pine, so getting for it seventy -five cents a thousand instead of 
five dollars a thousand. But most destructive of all was the swindling 
done by fire; the timber being fired to allow of its being cut as 'dead and 
down' and paid for at seventy -five cents a thousand instead of five dollars. 
It was a pitiful sight to see those magnificent pine forests, where I used to 
ride for seventy miles on a stretch through great pine woods, shapely 
and tall, the trees reaching up, it seemed, 100 feet, that, like the buffalo, 
could never be replaced, now all blackened and scarred, killed and dead. 
The glory of the State of Minnesota was gone when in the nineties her 
magnificent pine forests that covered so large an area of her northern 
part were fired to get the Indians' pine for seventy-five cents a thousand. 

"Now, as to your next question, whether there was more drinking 
among the Indians then than now. I am glad to say that for many years 
after 1873, when I first knew them, there was, one may say, no drinking 
among the Indians. The mixed-bloods, who were mostly French-Canadian 
mixed bloods, always drank a little, but the Indians were remarkably 
free from it. The White Earth Indians lived twenty-two miles from the 
railroad, the nearest place where they could get liquor; they were almost 
that distance from the nearest white men. The Red Lake Indians were 
one hundred miles from the railroad, the Cass Lake one hundred, the 
Leech Lake seventy miles. They were almost as far from any white men, 
except the Government employees and the missionaries. So they were 
secluded from the white man and his vices. But the great reason of their 
immunity was the missions. The influence of the Gospel and the church 
in their secluded position kept them safe. It is no reflection on the White 
Earth Indians to say that in the place from which they had been removed 
in 1868 — Crow W 7 ing — they had fallen most dreadfully under the do- 
minion of the 'firewater,' both men and women. They were in a most 
dreadful state of degradation from that cause. But never was the power 
of the Gospel more signally shown than in their cleansing and renovation 
on the White Earth reservation. I never saw a drunken Indian nor even 
one that I thought had tasted liquor. They had become communicants 
of the church, had their family prayers, their weekly prayer meetings 
from house to house, where they exhorted each other to steadfastness 
in the Christian life. What had such a people to do with liquor? Some 
of them, who at Crow Wing had been in the lowest depths, told me that 
they had not tasted liquor in twenty years, others for other periods; and 
I know they told the truth. Among all the chiefs, numbering perhaps 




OJIBWA, BLIND, FROM TRACHOMA, PINE POINT, 
WHITE EARTH RESERVATION, MINNESOTA 



THE OJIBWA OF MINNESOTA 



53 



twenty, on White Earth Reservation, there was just one who drank, and 
he, I am informed, had the liquor supplied to him by a mixed-blood, who, 
in payment, got him to swing the Indians to his schemes. 

"But into this fair garden of temperance Satan drew his shining trail 
and toward the last years of my residence there sadly marred it. It was 
found that much money could be made out of Indians drinking, and it 
soon grew up into a most profitable industry. It came about in this way: 
Congress, as everybody knows, passed a law that liquor should not be 
sold or given to Indians. A set of men arose who saw the money there 
was in that; they arrested Indians who had taken a drink, or as witnesses, 
took them to St. Paul or Duluth, fiddled with them a little, and then 
presented a bill of $400, I believe, to the Government for each Indian, 
which money was paid, and they divided it up among them. The Indians 
had all the whisky they wanted while under the care of these deputy 
marshals, as they were called; they kept drunk while with them, and they 
brought plenty of liquor home with them to the reservations when they 
returned. They did not want to stop the Indians drinking; they en- 
couraged it; the more drinking the more cases and the more money for 
them. This was found so profitable that it grew to a monstrous height. 
Once they had, it was said, every adult male Indian on the White Earth 
Reservation in St. Paul in whisky cases, a distance of, say 240 miles, and 
for every one of these men they got perhaps $400. The most of the deputy 
marshals who made the arrests were French-Canadian mixed-bloods of the 
lowest character, nearly all of whom openly and frankly drank themselves, 
though in the eyes of the law Indians like the Indians they arrested; and 
a high official of the United States Government told the writer that one 
of those half breeds made $5,000 a year out of it, as much, perhaps, as the 
salaries of the members of the Cabinet of the United States Government. 
How many hundreds of thousands of dollars or how many millions they 
got out of the Government by this swindle under the form of law it would 
be interesting to know. Some of those mixed-bloods worked that gold 
mine for eighteen years. The loss of so much money to the Government 
was pitiful, but not half so pitiful as the terrible demoralization of the 
Indians by the operations of those men. Here again the good intentions 
of the Government in passing that law, that liquor must not be given or 
sold to Indians, was turned into death and destruction to them, and be- 
came most bitter gall in its carrying out by the agents of the Government 
to enrich themselves. 

"So the answer to your question as to whether the Indians drank 
more then or now must be that in the early years after 1873, when there 



54 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



was just one honest white deputy marshal named Nichols, they drank 
practically none at all, most of them never tasting it for years; but that 
later, after the swarm of mixed-blood deputy marshals arose, there was 
much drinking under the manipulation of those men, restrained, however, 
by their very great lack of money, for at that time none of them had got any. 

"As to your other question, namely, the relative healthfulness of the 
Indians then and now, I would say that there was always much tuberculosis 
among them, owing to their crowding into one-room cabins, heated very 
hot in the winter, without ventilation; and if there was one tubercular 
patient, that one was spitting over everything, so that if there was one 
sick in a family he or she almost necessarily communicated the infection 
to everyone who was infectible. They say that formerly, when they lived 
practically in the open air, winter and summer, in their birchbark wig- 
wams, though in a 40-degrees-below-zero temperature in winter, and 
lived on a flesh diet, that consumption was unknown among them; but 
in the transition state, when shut up in the one-room cabin, living on salt 
pork and heavy bread, and in many other unsanitary ways, the ravages 
of consumption have been serious. Whether worse now than in the days 
from 1873 to 1898 I do not know. I only remember a few who had sore 
eyes, which I suppose was trachoma, in those days. 

"Believe me, very respectfully yours, 

"J. A. GlLFILLAX" 

There has always been a conflict between the full-bloods and mixed- 
bloods of Minnesota, and especially at White Earth reservation. This 
dates from the migration of a number of mixed-blood Indians (chiefly 
French-Canadian) from Canada. They have caused no end of trouble, 
and by clever manoeuvering dominated the councils. 

The favorite chief of the entire Ojibwa nation was Hole-in-the-Day. 
He became war chief in 1846. The Indians talk of him even at the present 
day, and the story of Ojibwa, presented towards the end of this book, 
will be found of interest in this connection. 

The Indians told me, during the investigation of 1909, who were 
responsible for the murder of this fine old chief, but they were unwilling 
to testify, fearing the vengeance of the French-Canadian element. The 
following interesting communication, from one in authority, clears up the 
murder of Hole-in-the-Day, and explains the hostility between the schem- 
ing mixed-bloods, and the honest, although ignorant full-bloods. 

"During the summer of 1912 Mr. James T. Shearman was detailed 
by the Honorable Secretary of the Interior to secure testimony concerning 



THE OJIBWA OF MINNESOTA 



55 



the eighty-six mixed-blood Indians suspended from the White Earth 
rolls. At this hearing certain testimony was given that may be of interest 
to you, as it explains the assassination of the then head chief of all the 
Chippewas, Hole-in-the-Day, who was killed at Crow Wing by a party 
of Leech Lake Indians in 1886. At this hearing an old, blind Indian tes- 
tified that Clement Beaulieu, father of Gus. Beaulieu, Albert Fairbanks, 
uncle of Ben Fairbanks, and certain other mixed-bloods employed him 
and other Indians then living at Leech Lake to go to Crow Wing and 




INDIAN SCHOOL CHILDREN IN UNIFORM, PINE POINT 
WHITE EARTH, MINNESOTA 



kill Chief Hole-in-the-Day, agreeing to pay the Indians $2000 for the 
deed. They went to Crow Wing and killed him according to agreement. 
Later, when the mixed-bloods refused to pay the price agreed upon, they 
organized another party and came to White Earth, intending to kill Beau- 
lieu and certain other mixed-blood families. Upon their arrival here they 
were induced by the present Head Chief, Me-zhuck-ke-ge-shig, who was 
related to one of the party, to return to Leech Lake. After this old, blind 
Indian finished his story, Me-zhuck-ke-ge-shig, now about ninety years 
of age, went upon the stand and confirmed the testimony of the former 
witness. Mr. Shearman's report is probably on file in the Secretary's 



56 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



office, and I am informed that a brief of the testimony was made by Mr. 
E. C. O'Brien of the Department of Justice, and you can probably obtain 
a copy of the same. 

"Since Mr. Shearman was here on the matter referred to, I have 
been furnished additional testimony concerning the killing of Hole-in- 
the-Day. It appears that the party left Leech Lake under the pretext 
of going hunting, there being nine in the party, and that only four of them 
were in the plot to kill Hole-in-the-Day. When they got to the Crow 
Wing country May-dway-we-mind said: "Hole-in-the-Day dies today." 
Later, they met him about a mile and a half from the Crow Wing Agency 
at a branch of the two roads, where he was killed. After the deed was 
done, one of the party named Ay-nah-me-ay-gah-bow asked why he had 
been killed. The answer was that they were told to do it and that there 
was a reward for killing him, that each one of the party was to get a thou- 
sand dollars and a nice house built for him, and the one who shot first was 
to take Hole-in-the-Day's place as Head Chief. The man who asked the 
first question also asked who offered the reward and he was told that 
Clement Beaulieu (father of Gus. H. Beaulieu), Albert Fairbanks (uncle 
of Ben L. Fairbanks), * with others, were the men. 

"Me-zhuck-ke-gwon-abe or Jim Bassett also stated that about four 
years after the killing he came with May-dway-we-mind, Num-ay-we-ne- 
nee, Way-zow-e-ko-nah-yay, O-didh-quay-ge-shig and Day-dah-tub-aun- 
gay to White earth for the money that had been offered as a reward and 
which they did not obtain. 

"It is a matter of history that Hole-in-the-Day was opposed to the 
admission of the mixed-bloods to this reservation and that he was killed 
at their instigation, and there has been irrepressible friction between these 
Indians ever since." 



* Name omitted. 



CHAPTER V. THE LEGAL COMPLICATIONS AT WHITE 
EARTH— THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 



Judge Marsden C. Burch, representing the Attorney General of the 
United States (Department of Justice) before the Committee on Expendi- 
tures in the Interior Department, House of Representatives, went into 
modern Ojibwa history at great length. The hearings began July 25, 1911, 
and continued through March 27, 1912. The testimony lies before me, 
and it fills 2,759 pages. It would be well nigh impossible for readers to 
consult this enormous bulk of evidence submitted by several hundred 
witnesses. He found, as have others, that they moved into Minnesota 
from the head of Lake Superior some seventy years ago. About 1868 the 
White Earth reservation was established, and the following bands were 
located at White Earth, Leech Lake, Red Lake, and Cass Lake in Minne- 
sota: the Mississippi; the Otter Tails; the Pillagers; and a few Indians 
still claiming they belonged to the Lake Superior band and the Fond du Lac 
band. The White Earth reservation consisted of thirty-six townships, 
or 829,440 acres. The population in 1909 was 5,300; about 700 full-bloods 
and 4,600 mixed-bloods. Those who have traveled over it will agree 
with Judge Burch's statement. 

"I have never seen a more beautiful stretch of territory than that 
embraced in the present White Earth reservation. It contained lakes and 
streams, prairies and forests, timber enough of white pine originally there 
to build all the elegant buildings that might have been needed for centuries 
to come, of the most valuable character — timber which now converted 
into lumber would be worth in the open market, ranging by various grades, 
from $35 to $110 per thousand feet, board measure. It is hard wood, 
ample for fuel and all kinds of purposes. There were marshes and lakes 
wherein they could fish, and whereon they could hunt and gather wild 
rice for their sustenance; and the richest of prairie lands imaginable, high, 
rolling, healthy — everything that could be desired for the last stand 
of a great race." 

On January 8, 1912, Judge Burch made a longer speech which reviews 
the entire political and Departmental history of White Earth.* Some 
readers may wish to know a little concerning the legal procedures by which 
Indians are dispossessed. We will, therefore, take White Earth as an 

* Hearings before the Committee on Expenditures in the Interior Department of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, H. R., 103, pp. 244-261. 



JAMES BASSETT, FULL-BLOOD OJIBWA IN TRIBAL COSTUME 



LEGAL COMPLICATIONS 



59 



example, and omit the discussion of similar troubles elsewhere. I present 
about a fourth of his address. 

In 1869, the Nelson Act was passed. This provided for the collecting 
of scattered Ojibwa from ten localities and concentrating them at White 
Earth, Red Lake and Leech Lake. Judge Burch enters into a lengthy dis- 
cussion of how the Nelson Act was followed by a bill introduced by Senator 
Clapp, and that in January, 1904, Representative Steenerson of Minnesota 
introduced another bill. Of this the Judge says: — 

"Under the terms of this Steenerson Act each Indian who had received 
an allotment on the White Earth Reservation or was entitled thereto 
should have an additional allotment sufficient to make the original and 
additional total 160 acres, provided that if there should not be enough 
land for 160 acres each, the additional allotments should contain only so 
much land as could be allotted by dividing the total remaining allotable 
land by the number of eligible allottees. 

"We expect to show that of this White Earth Reservation there was 
an area of lake surface aggregating 59,731.24 acres; also that there is 
claimed as swamp land going to the State as part of its quota under the 
organic law of Congress 26,658.15 acres. The allotments additional under 
the Steenerson Act were made by one Simon Michelet, the White Earth 
Indian Superintendent, or Agent, at that time. By omitting the two items 
of lake land and State swamp land from consideration, he figured that 
there was sufficient territory practically to furnish each allottee the full 
160 acres of land, and thus he proceeded to allot to those who first came 
to be served the total of 160 acres; of course, including all the valuable 
pine upon the reservation. 

"We expect to show that those who were thus favored by these com- 
plete additional allotments were largely composed of persons who could 
be handled in the matter of purchase of the timber by the representatives 
of the lumber companies that had procured the greater portion of the 
timber in the four townships. Large numbers of persons eligible to ad- 
ditional allotments, but who came later, were denied the same because 
there was no land left for them, there being 31,516.88 acres lacking. It 
will thus be seen that the so-called additional allotment under Michelet 
was a fraud upon the rights of from 400 to 500 Indians who were abso- 
lutely left out in the cold. In addition to this, it would seem that the 
allotments made included the 59,000 odd acres of lake land, thus increasing 
the fraud upon those who were not favored with pine in these additional 
allotments. The allotment was, of course, in direct violation of the Steener- 
son Act itself. It is a matter of question whether those who had knowledge 



60 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



of and participated in the benefits arising from these illegal allotments 
can not be yet reached by a court of equity and they compelled to account 
for their misdeeds. 

"No machinery for carrying into effect the Clapp amendment was 
provided therein, and thus it remained to be determined who were and who 
were not adults of the mixed-blood and freed from restraint as to alienation. 
The result was that designing persons rushed in and obtained deeds and 
mortgages indiscriminately ; that is, from children of the mixed-blood and 
adults of the full-blood the same as adults of the mixed-blood. In all 
of these they were accustomed to recite the competency of the Indian, 
and attached to the deed in each case they usually secured what purported 
to be the affidavit of two persons that the allottee was an adult Indian of 
the mixed blood, which affidavits were ordinarily passed with the deed 
in making mesne conveyances or in recording in the proper county record- 
ing office. In connection with these transactions we shall be able to demon- 
strate to the committee that every variety of fraudulent schemes and 
devices which would occur naturally to acute minds was resorted to to 
defraud the Indians. The taking of these deeds in violation of law from 
minors of the mixed-blood and from full-bloods eventuated in the action 
of the Government in requiring the Department of Justice to file about 
1,200 bills in equity to remove the clouds from the titles to lands thus 
unlawfully obtained. 

"Following upon the sudden acquirement of money by persons in some 
respects less fitted to handle the same and make proper use of it than 
white children of tender years, there came a condition of affairs which 
we expect to demonstrate to the committee as most deplorable and shame- 
ful, a stain upon the fair fame of a great and enlightened State. Saloons 
ran wide open. Cheap and tawdry articles were sold at extravagant 
prices. The Indians were overreached, and the money they had obtained 
from selling or mortgaging their lands or timber was coaxed from them in 
exchange for objects of little or no value, but of supposed utility — such 
as decrepit horses, defective vehicles, unmanageable sewing machines, 
and even pianos of little worth. A perfect frenzy of drunkenness charac- 
terized many who took their way to the neighboring town of Detroit, and 
encamped in its vicinity, and practically the same conditions occurred in 
the hamlets along the Soo Road. The land-shark, passing under the more 
dignified title of real-estate agent, was everywhere in evidence, and the 
money-loaning shark, posing under the more dignified business appellation 
of banker, was engaged in over-reaching the Indian right and left. 

H« Hs * H« * * 



LEGAL COMPLICATIONS 



61 



"From the close of 1906 or 1907, when isolated transactions were going 
on, the fiercest of the fraud and debauchery had subsided, till the summer 
of 1909 a condition like that of the quiet which succeeds a prolonged in- 
toxication occurred. The Indians had mainly, in one form or another, 
parted with their heritage and in most instances, had suffered severely 
from the result. Poverty, sickness, a sense of mortification and loss at the 
hands of the white men pervaded their minds and depressed their spirits. 
The pine again, as in the case of the four townships, by clean-cut lines of 
apparent division had shown up in the ownership and possession as to 
certain territory (and this the largest and most valuable part) of the Nichols- 
Chisolm Lumber Co. — pine reputed in extent to be of the amount of 
150,000,000 feet. 




DISPOSSESSED OJIBWA AT REAR OF AGENCY BUILDINGS 
Rice River, White Earth, Minn., 1909. 



"Pine in another clean-cut and well-defined territory, reputed to 
amount to about 50,000,000 feet, was found to be in the possession and 
under the control of the Park Rapids Lumber Co.; and in still another 
section, equally well defined in its boundary line, a reputed 50,000,000 feet 
was controlled by the Wild Rice Lumber Co. Likewise the best of the 



62 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



agricultural lands had fallen into the hands of, or under the control of, 
the so-called bankers at the hamlets before mentioned, and certain men 
of great wealth and influence resident in the city of Duluth, as well as in 
St. Paul and Minneapolis. 

sfc ^ % 

"The first result of the treaties of 1889 was the saddling upon the Chip- 
pewas of an allotting commission of three members and a large retinue 
of subordinates. The expense of this commission was $88 a day, and the 
work that the commission and its subordinates accomplished could doubt- 
less have easily been done by an allotting clerk at $1,000 a year. Besides 
this commission many other white officials were sent to the reservations, 
ostensibly to supervise the cutting of the timber and on many other pre- 
texts, for all of which the Indians had to pay. A corps of estimators, 
each drawing $6 a day of the Indians' money, was appointed to estimate 
the pine on the Red Lake Reservation. Fraud having been discovered in 
making this estimate, a new corps of estimators, numbering about twenty- 
six, was appointed to do the work over again. Each of the new corps also 
received $6 per day of the Indians' money. 

"The new corps proved to be grossly incompetent. They were always 
well supplied with whiskey and drank heavily. They spent most of their 
time in towns fifteen or twenty miles distant from the pine they were sent 
to estimate. Some of the interlopers were members of this corps of ex- 
aminers, and, though they absented themselves for long periods of time, 
they still drew their pay. It has been asserted that the total cost to the 
Indians of these two corps of estimators was $350,000 and that the real 
value of their work was about $6,000; that in many cases the pine had been 
underestimated in the interest of the purchasers. The second corps of 
estimators were likewise discharged and a third corps appointed to go 
over the work previously done. Like the celebrated case of Jarndice v. 
Jarndice, it seems that after all the proceedings were over, although the 
pine alone on the reservations, exclusive of that on the White Earth Reser- 
vation, was supposed to be worth from $25,000,000 to $50,000,000, there 
would be little or nothing left but heirs. Although an Indian entitled to 
a share of the immense value of these lands and forests might be starving 
to death, he could not procure two cents from his great wealth to buy a 
pound of flour. 

"While the proceeds from the sale of the pine was thus being squan- 
dered, the Indians were also being defrauded by the loggers and lumbermen 
who were purchasing the timber. By the conspiracy at the Crookston sale 
in 1900, the Indians doubtless lost several thousand dollars, and by the 



LEGAL COMPLICATIONS 



63 



fraudulent operations under the so-called 'dead and down' act, they lost 
even a greater sum. 

"Another source of complaint on the part of the real Indians of Minne- 
sota is the payment of annuities to persons whom the Indians contend 
are not members of their tribe, and whose names are not properly upon 
the tribal rolls, and who consequently had no rights thereto. 

"Another grievance of which the real Indians bitterly complain and 
which was the immediate cause of the outbreak of the Pillagers in 1898, 
resulting in the killing of a major and six soldiers of the LTnited States 
Army, and the wounding of many others, was the conduct of certain mixed- 
blood deputy marshals, several of whom it is claimed by the Indians were 
persons who had improperly been placed upon their tribal rolls. These 
deputy marshals originated and developed, as we shall expect to show, 
a system of arresting and transporting to St. Paul, Duluth, and Detroit 
various members of the tribe, charging them either with bringing whiskey 
upon the reservation or with some other like offense. We expect to show 
that the purpose of these mixed-blood deputy marshals was to secure fees 
for making such arrests and for bringing other Indians to the said cities 
as witnesses against the Indians accused. The practice continued for some 
years, until finally, as we expect to show, a member of the Pillager Band 
was arrested in this manner and taken to Duluth. He was left at Duluth 
without money to buy food or to buy transportation home, and compelled to 
walk back to the reservation, a distance of more than 200 miles. When he 
arrived at the reservation he was nearly dead from exposure and starvation. 

"An instance of the manner in which the Minnesota Indians have 
been made the instruments or causes for defrauding the Government 
through Congress, in the interests of attorneys, and these same parties 
who have been so often suggested, is the Mille Lac Indian case. An ap- 
propriation of $40,000 was secured through an act of Congress ostensibly 
for the relief of the Mille Lac Indians as a payment for certain alleged 
improvements made by them upon the Mille Lac Reservation. The matter 
came up this way : 

"In 1854 the Mille Lac Band ceded their reservation to the Govern- 
ment. In 1862, when Chief Hole-in-the-Day advised a combination with 
the Sioux for an uprising against the Government, these Indians refused 
to participate on account of their ancient enmity with the Sioux. To 
reward them for their loyalty the President promised them they might 
still remain on their reservation as long as they did not interfere with the 
Whites. 



64 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



"Under the Nelson Act, in the treaty of 1889, they ceded this privilege 
of occupancy to the Government, but some portions of them refused to 
remove to White Earth, claiming that they had never really ceded any- 
thing to the Government. As an inducement for these parties to leave, 
Congress was persuaded to appropriate $40,000, or so much thereof as 
might be necessary for the purpose, to pay these parties for the improve- 
ments they had made during their occupancy of the reservation. (32 Stat. 
L. 268.) Michelet and this same- — — — — *went over for the Govern- 




GROUP OF THIRTY PERSONS CONSTITUTING LINNEN-MOOREHEAD FORCE 
WHITE EARTH INVESTIGATION, 1909 



ment to investigate and appraise the improvements, and found practically 
none — nothing but the charred remains of some Indian tipis ; but to 
eat up, that is, to cover the entire $40,000, these charred remains were 
appraised at the original cost of the tipis, and items were inserted in 
the list of improvements, such as the profit an Indian would make gathering 
wild rice for a year, for gathering wild honey for a like period, and other 
like items. Now, the real disposition of the money seems to have been 
as follows: 



* Name omitted. 



LEGAL COMPLICATIONS 



65 



"First, $4,000 was paid to Gus H. Beaulieu for attorney's fees, $2,500 
was paid to D. B. Henderson as attorney's fees, and $1,500 to D. B. Hen- 
derson for expenses. Four chiefs received $1,000 each. About $17,000 
was then prorated among the Indians; $10,020 then remained in the 
hands of Gus. H. Beaulieu. 

"It then became necessary for the Mille Lac Indians to employ another 
set of attorneys to sue Beaulieu for the $10,020. After considerable ex- 
pensive litigation, Beaulieu deposited $5,600 to the credit of the Mille Lac 
Band in the Merchants National Bank of St. Cloud, Minn., and paid 
$1,000 to the Indians' attorneys. 

"The traders in the vicinity of the Mille Lac Reservation then com- 
menced suit for the money so deposited, claiming that the individual 
members of the band owed them money for goods. Again a compromise 
was effected with the result that a portion of the $5,600 was turned over 
to Agent Michelet for distribution. There is now about $208 waiting for 
the claimants. 

"We think this is indicative of the way in which Congress has con- 
tributed innocently from the public funds to the support and enrichment 
of a few persons of little or no merit, by a species of pretense of recompens- 
ing the Indians who, in the end, have slight participation in the generous 
provisions so by Congress made." 



CHAPTER VI. THE WHITE EARTH SCANDAL 



Judge Burch's research led him to conclude that the Indians were in 
vastly better shape forty years ago than at the present time. The reading 
of Warren's book, Gilfillan's testimony, and other evidence establishes 
it beyond question that the Indian does not seem to have suffered to any 
great extent in either health or morals prior to 1880. The older men of 
the tribe, who were keen mentally in spite of great age, when I visited 
those Indians in 1909, told me much regarding their past. I visited them 
under most auspicious circumstances, being empowered by the Indian 
Office to conduct investigations of affairs at White Earth, and having at 
my command numerous interpreters and assistants. The old shaman, 
Bay-bah-dwun-gay-aush, Me-zhuck-ke-ge-shig, Ojibwa,* Mah-een-gonce, 
and others with whom I talked a great deal, laid the blame for their present 
deplorable condition on the unscrupulous French-Canadians, mixed-blood 
element, as well as covetous white men who sought timber and land. 
Gilfillan has pointed out in his letter the increase of drunkenness due to 
large financial rewards offered by the Government in pursuing a mistaken 
policy. 

Father Aloysius Hermanutz has been at White Earth since 1878. 
In his testimony before the Graham Investigating Committee, he stated 
that the full-blood Indians at that time were in good condition. Nearly 
everyone owned a team of oxen, a cow, and cultivated fields. Many of 
them raised vegetables and there was much weaving of rugs and small 
carpets. They had an Agent, Mr. Charles Ruffey, who was kind to them 
but very strict. The farmer was a competent man and knew how to make 
Indians work. 

" 1 met him one day on the road on horseback. He went to that 
Indian — to that farm — I met him there and asked him where he was 
going, and he said: 'There are two Indians, Father, up beyond that church. 
They didn't plow their field in order to put the seeds in, and the Agent 
ordered me to tell them if they don't plow their fields now (it was in April) 
that the team will be taken away from them.' And of course they were 
old-timers. That w T as Saturday when I saw them, and on Sunday morning 
they started to plow. They were scared and they plowed their fields. 
At the time the Indians were in very good condition, and then afterwards 
it changed and they went down again." 

* According to Miss Densmore's spelling: "Odjibwe": "Maingans"; "Meja-kigi-jig". I have 
spelled the names as pronounced. 



THE WHITE EARTH SCANDAL 



67 



The illustrations accompanying these chapters were taken during the in- 
vestigation of 1909 and give some idea of conditions obtaining at that time. 
So much has been said and written regarding the situation of the Minnesota 
Ojibwa, that the Government adopted heroic measures, and conditions 
are to a great extent ameliorated, but they are still far from satisfactory. 

Omitting the racial traits of the people the past sixty years, let us 
consider their present condition and the causes leading up to it. 

The 1889 bill (Congress) was known officially: "For the Relief and 
Civilization of the Chippewa Indians." There is both sarcasm and irony 
in that phrase, which only those of us who know what kind of "relief and 
civilization" the Chippewas have received since the bill was passed, can 
appreciate. 

At the time White Earth reservation was created, a treaty was made 
with the Ojibwa bands, March 19th, 1867. It was the Government's 
intention at the time this solemn treaty was signed, to encourage progress 
in industry, and to permanently locate the Ojibwa upon farms. W 7 ith so 
laudable a purpose in view, one of the provisions of this treaty was as 
follows: Any Indian who brought under cultivation ten acres of land, 
was entitled to a fee simple patent, or deed, for forty acres additional, and 
so on up to 160 acres. This encouraged many Indians to become indus- 
trious and they brought under cultivation many tracts of land. In 1887, 
under the Dawes Act, the holdings of agricultural land were limited to 
eighty acres. After the "Relief and Civilization" act of 1889, Gus Beaulieu, 
a French-Canadian-Indian politician, and others became very active in 
and about White Earth reservation. A Mr. Darwin S. Hall was appointed 
Chippewa Commissioner and became interested in Mr. Beaulieu's projects. 

Whatever the original purpose of this act, it was used by venal white 
men to get hold of the Indians' land. Previously the land had all been in 
a reservation and could not be touched. Now it was coming under the 
control of individual Indians and might be sold. 

The Indians could not be thrown neck-and-heels off their reservation, 
although I suppose certain interested persons of northern Minnesota 
would have adopted that happy expedient were it possible. Some kind 
of legislation must be enacted whereby the wolves could enter the flock, if 
not entirely disguised, at least so covered that the shepherd of the flock 
might have some difficulty in differentiating between the sheep and the 
wolves. So it came about that the "Clapp Amendment" was passed as a 
rider to the general Indian appropriation bill. The Clapp amendment in 
substance, provided that any mixed-blood Indian could dispose of his 
property, but full-bloods and minors could not. 



68 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



If either Senator Clapp or Congressman Steenerson ever endeavored 
to put an end to the abuses resulting from the passage of this legislation 
their efforts have failed to accomplish results. I never heard that anyone 
in Congress tried to remedy the evils following the passage of these bills. 
Two of the missionaries, Rev. Felix Nelles of Pine Point and Rev. Aloysius 
Hermanutz of White Earth, wrote to the Indian Office, protesting that the 
Indians were being swindled out of their property. But Father Felix 
reports to me by letter that so far as he is aware neither the protest of 
himself nor his superior, Father Aloysius, had any effect. 

When the Act of 1867, establishing White Earth reservation, and 
which Judge Burch has discussed, was put into effect, a great number of In- 
dians by hard work, notably the chief of the entire five living bands of 
Chippewa, a grand old man, whose name is Me-zhuck-ke-ge-shig, took 
advantage of this and earned many acres of land. This chief was looked 
up to by the Indians, was a good man himself, and many of his friends 
followed his example, worked hard and earned forty, eighty or one hundred 
and sixty acres. Imagine the surprise of these Indians when, at the time 
the pine lumber was allotted, some one in Washington announced that 
the Indians who had received farm lands could not participate in the pine 
allotting. In other words, the French-Canadians, the mixed-bloods and 
such full-bloods as had not worked and were not industrious, received 
pine tracts valued from few to many thousands of dollars, and those who 
had obeyed the wishes of the Indian Office, had advanced by hard 
work along the "road to civilization," were debarred from participation. 
It was precisely as if a college passed its drones and conditioned its honor- 
roll men. No wonder these Wliite Earth Indians do not care to work, 
and say they "cannot understand Washington." If whoever was re- 
sponsible for such a ruling had sat down and deliberately tried to figure 
out the most certain way of injuring the Ojibwa Indians, he could not 
have conceived a better plan. 

Immediately after I was appointed on the Board of Indian Commis- 
sioners, a correspondent wrote me from Wisconsin that the Ojibwa Indians 
at White Earth were in bad condition. The Indian Rights Association had 
made a similar complaint. Rev. Charles Wright, Episcopal missionary at 
Cass Lake, shortly after the scandals began to develop, on his own re- 
sponsibility borrowed money and in spite of the opposition of the Indian 
Agent, Simon Michelet, he went to Washington to lay the grievances of 
the Indians before the President. He bore letters of introduction from 
Governor John A. Johnson and United States Senator Knute Nelson. 
The lumber companies, it was supposed, wired the Indian Commissioner 



THE WHITE EARTH SCANDAL 



69 



of Wright's mission. He did not find favor at Washington, never suc- 
ceeded in seeing the President, and sorrowing and sick at heart he was 
compelled to return to Minnesota. 

The Board of Indian Commissioners having no funds, I asked the 
Indian Office to appoint me as Special Agent with full powers, and send 
me to White Earth. This was done about March 1st. I spent five weeks 
investigating conditions in the southern part of the reservation, Pine 
Point, and returned to Washington the latter part of April, 1909. The 
first of July, Inspector E. B. Linnen and myself were sent to White Earth 
with full authority. We employed a total force of thirty-seven persons 
and made a complete investigation. 

During the first five weeks at White Earth, save for local employees, 
I was entirely alone. The investigation soon developed that millions of 
dollars' worth of pine timber and farm lands had been stolen from the 
Indians. As soon as it was ascertained that I was working in the interests 
of the Indian, the lumber companies and the mixed-blood and French- 
Canadians attempted in every possible way to end the investigation. They 
first tried bribery, and later intimidation. They lured away several of my 
witnesses, and even some of the Government employees informed me that 
it was hopeless to fight the great land and timber interests back of the 
despoilation of 5,300 Indians. Matters went from bad to worse. Some 
idea of the physical strain may be had from the statement that I lost 
fifteen pounds weight in five weeks. As the other Inspectors and Special 
Agents had not reported on White Earth conditions, the Indian Office 
could not, at first, believe my story. At last, I received a telegram asking 
me to come to Washington. I had at that time one hundred and three 
affidavits representing more than a million dollars worth of property, and 
involving county officials, lumbermen and presidents of national banks. 
Ill feeling had developed in the local towns. The nearest railway station, 
Park Rapids, was distant eighteen miles. Ogema, on the "Soo Line," 
lay forty -five miles to the north. Knowing that the enemy would attempt 
to prevent the affidavits going East, I started Doctor Isaac Stahlberg, 
Government physician, for Park Rapids at noon. He arrived there about 
half-past three o'clock and volunteered the information that I would 
probably take the 5 o'clock train East. 

Meanwhile, at 7 o'clock that same morning, in three vehicles, nine of 
us, including five armed Indian policemen, started for Ogema to the north. 
We reached our destination without incident, and I delivered the affidavits 
to Commissioner Valentine in Washington two days later. 

Honorable Robert G. Valentine, then Commissioner, took great 



70 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



interest in the White Earth affair, supported my contentions, and at his 
suggestion a very experienced man, Inspector Linnen, returned with me 
to the scene of action, as has been stated. We had the hearty cooperation 
of Superintendent John II . Howard, who was appointed early in 1908 
and succeeded Simon Michelet. Major Howard has filled one of the 
most difficult positions in the entire Indian Service. He has been bitterly 
opposed by the mixed-blood element through Beaulieu's newspaper. 
Neighboring towns have organized Boards of Trade, and these have ap- 
pealed by committee and through the press to Congress, alleging that the 
Interior Department and Department of Justice have interfered with 
business. 

Howard's position has been no sinecure, and in addition to his other 
troubles, he was given a chief clerk who happened to be a disputatious 
person, who had caused trouble in California, and on arrival at White 
Earth became friendly with some of those who were opposing him. This 
tense situation was not brought to an end until vigorous protests were 
lodged by a number of us at Washington. 

The beginning of the great scandal at White Earth is interesting as 
well as dramatic. What I have to say in succeeding pages is not in the 
official language of the report made by Linnen and myself, but is drawn 
from departmental sources. 

I make this explanation, for I am well aware that what follows will 
sound to some readers as a page from Russian, or Turkish, history, rather 
than a leaf from the history of one of our own states in our own great 
and free country! 

The 24th of April, 1905, was set as the date on which the white, Norway 
and other valuable pine tracts would be allotted to the Indians of White 
Earth. The word was passed throughout the reservation, and the Erench- 
Canadians, who are there in considerable numbers and most of whom show 
very slight trace of Indian blood, were the first to appear. Educated mixed- 
blood Indians also arrived some days previous. A line was formed near 
the United States Government building door some time Saturday after- 
noon. The allotting was to begin Monday morning. It is interesting to 
note that first in the line was Margaret Lynch, a young white girl, whose 
father and mother were white people, and who, the Indians properly main- 
tained, had no right to an allotment. The girl received allotment number 
one, for which her father refused $22,000 cash the next day. 

The Agent at this time was Simon Michelet. He was possessed of a 
violent temper, according to the sworn testimony of a policeman employed 
at the White Earth Agency for nearly ten years. Michelet was friendly 



THE WHITE EARTH SCANDAL 



71 



with Gus H. Beaulieu, the Nichols-Chisolm Lumber Company and others 
who were equally interested in obtaining timber from the White Earth 
Indians. It was bad form, to say the least, for the United States Agent 
to use his office at this time to hold long conferences with the representatives 
of the lumber companies. 

What was said behind the closed doors no one knows, but what 
occurred at the time of the allotting sheds a little light on the situation. 
The chief clerk of agent Michelet was one J. T. Van Metre. As he re- 
signed his position after the timber was allotted and entered the real estate 
business, this added another complication to the already confused affairs 
at White Earth. 

During the allotting of the pine timber there was such confusion, the 
line became broken and many people lost their places. My two investi- 
gations on the reservation, covering nearly seventeen weeks, lead me to 
believe that the most valuable tracts were selected in advance, and that 
the names of those who were to have them were entered on a list for use 
at the allotment. 

In support of this contention is the affidavit of Robert Henry, sworn 
to September 24th, 1909, who came early to White Earth at the time of 
the allotment and passed into the agent's office shortly after the allotting 
began. He held in his hand descriptions of forty or fifty different pine 
tracts, and yet was told that all had been selected and he could not have 
a good pine allotment. Not enough people preceded Henry to have drawn 
each of these allotments. The same is true of a woman who had in her 
hand fifty descriptions, and she was told that all of these had been selected. 
It early in the day became evident that the full-bloods were, if possible, 
to be kept from getting any land, for by the Clapp amendment only the 
mixed-bloods could sell their land. 

Early in the day when the full-blood Indians were clamoring for 
recognition and insisting that the French-Canadians and white people 
be kept back, John St. Luke, the policeman, testifying under oath, Septem- 
ber 24th, 1909, says: "Agent Simon Michelet came out of his office in 
an excited manner, and told me to keep the Indians out and let the mixed- 
bloods in. There seemed to be confusion in the line. Michelet pushed 
some of these Indians back, swearing at them, and told me to club them 
if necessary, to keep them from crowding in." St. Luke refused to do this. 

At last the full-bloods registered a protest, some of the Indians sent 
for their guns, and things took on a serious aspect. Presently by way 
of compromise it was agreed that for every mixed-blood that received 
a pine allotment a full-blood should also obtain one. This continued until 



OJIBWA CHIEF, KE-WAY-DIN, PINE POINT, WHITE EARTH 
RESERVATION, MINNESOTA, 1909 



THE WHITE EARTH SCANDAL 



73 



all of the twenty or more miles of pine timber had been allotted in tracts 
of eighty acres each to the Indians. 

The pine timber allotted these Indians ranged all the way from tracts 
worth $2,000 or $3,000 to those valued as high as $25,000. Since the lands 
were allotted, iron ore has been found in quantities under certain parts 
of the reservation. How extensive are these bodies, no man may know, 
and the value might be a few millions, or many hundreds of millions. 




EVICTED INDIANS, TWIN LAKES, WHITE EARTH RESERVATION, MINNESOTA, 1909 

The effect of the allotment on the Whites near White Earth was imme- 
diate. Mushroom banks sprang up in the surrounding small towns. The 
Indians in their affidavits (of which Linnen and myself took 505) testified 
that lawyers, banks, county officials, and business men of prominence in 
Detroit, Ogema, Mahnomen, and other towns, joined in the scramble to 
secure their pine lands and farm tracts. 

As few of these men spoke the language, it was necessary to have 
interpreters, and the educated Indians were soon divided into two camps, 
those who were willing for pay to interpret for the land-sharks and timber 
thieves, and those who would not help in defrauding their own people. 

It is sad to note that in a hundred or more instances the Indians were 
purposely made drunk and their lands taken away from them while under 



74 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



the influence of liquor. Many of the Indians do not remember what kind 
of papers they signed, whether deeds or mortgages, or whether any papers 
were signed at all. 

While our investigation was in progress, and we had moved over to 
Rice River, Mr. J. Weston Allen visited us for three weeks. He came as 
a representative of the Boston Indian Citizenship Committee, and because 
of his high standing in the legal profession, rendered valuable assistance 
in the investigation. 

The key to the whole situation lay in the question of blood. As has 
been shown before, the mixed-bloods only could sell their land. The 
full-bloods could not. Consequently we assembled the old record-keepers, 
medicine men, chiefs, and Indians of prominence who knew their own 
people. Some of these were more than eighty-five years of age and none 
of them under seventy. When an Indian appeared before us to give his 
testimony, we first asked him whether he was a full-blood or a mixed-blood, 
and the names of his parents and grandparents. The old witnesses, prob- 
ably twelve or fifteen, might not all know the parents or grandparents 
of the Indian testifying. But three, four, six, and sometimes eight of them 
would know the family history, and would be able to swear whether the 
Indian was a full-blood. If he was a mixed-blood, we told him with regret 
that we could do nothing for him. 

One affidavit of the Indian himself as to his blood relationship and 
parents was taken, another signed by the old witnesses to the same effect. 
A third affidavit related to the property possessed by the Indian, with 
number and description of allotments, and by careful questioning we 
ascertained when and where he had disposed of his land. The fourth 
affidavit was by the interpreters in which they solemnly declared that 
they had correctly interpreted our statements to the Indian and his answers 
to us, and that he understood the nature of the papers that he had signed. 
The interpreters also made further affidavit that they had carefully inter- 
preted to the old Indian witnesses the papers that they signed. In addition 
to all of the above, we frequently took affidavits of Indians who were 
present during the swindling operations. Thus it will be seen that the 
evidence was very complete, positive and exact. So far as I know, no 
investigating force on a reservation had ever done more work in the same 
length of time. We labored from eight o'clock to twelve, one to six, and 
frequently from seven until eleven at night. 

The Indians took great interest in the investigation, and as we moved 
from one portion of the reservation to another we were accompanied by 
large numbers of these poor people. On one occasion over eighty Indians 



THE WHITE EARTH SCANDAL 



75 



were present, and we were compelled to turn two large school buildings 
into dormitories. 

These Indians had lost their property almost without exception. 
Whether the term "swindle" is used or not is immaterial. They lost their 
property through many and devious ways. The affidavits indicated that 
in many instances Indians appeared before the buyers either drunk or some- 
what under the influence of liquor. Not only did the interpreters give 
the Indians liquor, but frequently the Indians drank of their own accord. 
Of course the bankers, lawyers, county officials and real estate men knew 
that the ordinary code of business ethics would not countenance their 
dealings with drunken persons. But these land-owners being Indians, 
and the sentiment of the thirty-seven individuals and firms who in the 
affidavits are shown to be responsible for the conditions at White Earth 
being against Indians as land-owners, no discrimination was made and 
Indians were permitted to "do business" whether drunk or sober. Next 
to drunkenness as a means of separating the Indian from his land, the 
deliberate deceit practised by the buyers stands out conspicuously. Scores 
of affidavits and statements were taken of Indians who owned two, three, 
five, or even seven or eight trust patents. The trust patent was preliminary 
paper, but as trust patents would in the process of time become deeds, the 
white people did not differentiate and trust patents were in most cases 
accepted the same as deeds. In order to be within the law it was necessary 
to prove the Indians mixed-bloods. Most of the Indians were therefore 
sworn as mixed-bloods. They frequently protested, stating that they were 
full-bloods, but were described in the papers as mixed-bloods just the same. 
Therefore few of the papers signed by these Indians were read or inter- 
preted to them, and in the majority of cases, as the Indian could neither 
write nor read, he did not know whether he was signing receipts, mortgages, 
deeds or releases. The favorite form of expression used by the interpreter, 
according to affidavits, was "the buyer says this is a legal document which 
you would not understand if read to you, and all you have to do is to sign 
your name and receive the money." Very few Indians appear to have 
sworn to the papers they signed. 

When an Indian appeared with more than one trust patent he was 
usually told that one of these would be purchased or mortgaged and the 
others would be held for him and he could sign papers for all of 
them. Many of the buyers were accustomed to say to the Indian, "You 
have no safe in your cabin, and if these papers burn up you would lose 
your land. You had better let me keep them in my safe." Then the 
Indian signed and parted with the papers and we can imagine the result. 



76 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Allotments acquired by inheritance are called by the Indians "dead 
allotments." Such estates must be probated. In other communities the 
fee is anywhere from a few dollars to fifteen dollars or more, but in Detroit, 
Mahnomen, Ogema and Wauban, the usual charge varied from $50 to as 
high as $150, according to the credulity of the victim — and there were 
other charges. When the Indians reported to us that they had signed 
over "dead allotments" to be probated, we frequently discovered that it 
was not clear in the Indian's mind how so much money was necessary in 
order to settle these estates, but having surrendered the trust patent, he 
was without anything to show for his inheritance. Frequently little or 
nothing accrued to the Indian after the benevolent attorney or banker had 
been paid for his efforts in directing the Indian's footsteps along the broad 
highway of civilization. 

Instances are not wanting where deceased Indians were actually 
resurrected long enough to dispose of land which they had neglected to 
convey during life, and affidavits are not lacking which recite that so-and-so 
was an adult mixed-blood and competent to handle his affairs. I have in 
mind one case of a boy resting in his grave at Pine Point. Certain in- 
dividuals made affidavit that this boy was alive, and was of age, and there- 
by they secured control of his valuable pine allotment. 

The affidavits bristled with forgery and perjury. 

Men employed in the livery stables of Detroit and elsewhere told me 
that as soon as the lands were allotted all the available teams and drivers 
were engaged by the buyers, and that night and day for many months 
these men scoured the reservation and pursued the Indian men, women 
and children until they had secured the best farms and timber tracts avail- 
able. There is one man in particular whose history is interesting. He 
walked into Detroit a tramp ten years ago and began washing dishes in 
a hotel. Just how he got his start is under dispute, one man claiming that 
a stranded theatrical company left several trunks of gaudy paraphernalia 
in Detroit, which this man traded to some drunken Indians for a tract of 
land. Whether this is true or not, he was successful in Indian land specu- 
lation, and at present he is now a leading citizens of the region. Some 
of the Indians call him, "the white wolf, with the gold teeth." 

Where was the United States Indian Bureau, while this disgraceful 
scene was being enacted? Where was the Indian Agent, sworn to protect 
these people? Where were the Inspectors and Special Agents? How was 
it that the testimony of missionaries and others, and their warnings, pro- 
duced no effect in Washington? These are questions I have repeatedly 
asked, and nobody has ever answered them. 



CHAPTER VII. SOME INDIAN TESTIMONY AND 
AFFIDAVITS, SICKNESS. 



During the height of the pine and land purchases, crowds of Indians 
at White Earth were persuaded to visit Detroit and Park Rapids and 
Ogema. Contrary to the law, whiskey was frequently sold them. They 
tell how at Park Rapids, in the little square in the centre of the village, 
drunken Indians were lying on the grass in numbers, and at Ogema a 
saloon keeper was passing liquor in a bucket, and handing it out by the 
dipperful to Indians. 

After the buyers had used persuasion to get the Indians to give up 
their allotments, they resorted to stronger measures in dealing with those 
who would not sell. A wife of a policeman at Pine Point, Mrs. John 
Rock, was awakened at eleven o'clock in the night by Detroit buyers, 
who forcibly entered her cabin, and stayed until two o'clock in the morn- 
ing until they obtained one of her tracts of land. 

When Indians visited Detroit and partook of liquor they were ar- 
rested. On being brought before the authorities and fined, they were told 
by the attorney who was supposed to defend them, or by the kind-hearted 
land buyer, that they must sell or deed over a tract of land in order to 
pay the fine. Sworn testimony in several cases is to this effect. 

When Indians were brought into the offices of the buyers and hesitated 
about selling or mortgaging, more persuasive arguments were used. In 
the case of Grace Rock, who visited E. G. Holmes' bank, the testimony 
now in the hands of the Government is to the effect that as she did not 
wish to sell at the price offered, and started into the hall, one of those 
present cried to Interpreter Morrison, "Go and fetch her back, and if she 
will not sell, we will throw her into the lake." 

Me-zhuck-ke-gway-abe in affidavit No. 268, July 29, 1909, states that 
one Fred Saunders got him to drink and then bought his land. A minor 
son, Willy Bassett, was told to sign papers, or he would be put in jail. 

In the case of Mrs. Lawrence Roberts, her affidavit recites that she 
appeared before banker Anundensen with Interpreter Robert Morrison — 
"Anundensen asked if I was a mixed-blood and I said my parents are full- 
bloods. He said that is all right. We signed papers." 

I quote this case because it is typical of nearly one hundred others. 
The papers which she signed were not explained to this woman and may 
well have recited that she was a mixed-blood Indian. 




ROSE ELLIS 

One of the interpreters serving during the investigation of 1909. 
Carlisle graduate. Full-blood Ojibwa 



INDIAN TESTIMONY — AFFIDAVITS 



79 



A number of Indians have stated that "If you are related to mixed- 
bloods, it is all right." I make particular mention of this mixed-blood 
question because, before the Congressional Investigation Committee Gus 
Beaulieu claimed that I endeavored to prove all Indians full-bloods, and 
that these Indians, having previously sworn before the land buyers that 
they were mixed-bloods, should now be indicted for perjury. We were 
especially careful in all our evidence, and we discriminated against those 
who appeared to be mixed-bloods — if there was any discrimination at 
all. Only Indians who were undoubtedly full-bloods were entered as such. 

The fact that many Indians may have previously sworn that they 
were mixed-bloods does not prove them to be such. They were made to 
sign these papers, the papers were not explained to them, and if there is 
any perjury, the white people are responsible, rather than the Indians 
who have been duped. 

When the business of dealing in Indian lands was at its height, car- 
loads of wild bronchos from South Dakota, and broken-down horses from 
St. Paul were shipped up to the Indian country. The business was appar- 
ently conducted on a large scale, for several hundred Indians testified 
to having traded their allotments for a little cash and teams of horses, 
buggies, harnesses and sleighs, not to mention old pianos, graphophones 
and other useless articles in the struggle of the aborigines for existence. 
As the Ojibwa are woods or canoe Indians, and not "Horse Indians" as 
are the Sioux, very few of them understood the management of horses. 
Even if the horses had been strong and active, it is doubtful if they would 
have been of any considerable value to these Indians. Some of the horses 
lived but a few weeks. Many of them were so old that their teeth were 
worn down. The broncho would run away and smash the old buggy or 
sleigh. 

Five interpreters, who confessed as to their part in these proceedings 
in order to escape prosecution, told how the bankers and real estate men 
often stood in their office doors and laughed heartily as the poor Indians 
drove away after conducting their business. 

One young lady, who is a Carlisle graduate, told me that she and her 
sister, believing that the man who paid the Indians money for their land 
was cheating, put on Indian costumes, painted up and passed before him. 
Each girl was to receive $750. He said, "Do you speak English?" She 
replied, "kawin," which is emphatic "no." He then proceeded to count 
ones and twos aloud until he had reached what would appear to an ignorant 
Indian to be $750, but was in reality about $130. This girl stood aside 
and her sister then appeared. The man asked the same question, and she, 



80 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



waiting until he had counted the money, then said in English, "Don't 
you think you had better count that over?" He flushed and stammered 
and made good the full amount to each sister. A woman sold a million 
feet of pine timber for $10,000 and came home with a thousand one-dollar 
bills stuffed in a long stocking. 

One of our old Indian witnesses at Pine Point, sold seventy thousand 
feet of pine timber valued at nearly a thousand dollars, and all he received 
was ten dollars. 

In the case of the old woman O-mo-du-yea-quay, she testified she was 
visited by interpreter Joe Flammand, who told her that Lawyer Beum 
would pay her $500 for her eighty acres. "When I got there, they gave 
me a little less than forty dollars and bought me a house alongside the 
railroad, containing one bedstead, two chairs, a small table and a little 
cook-stove. After that Flammand would come to my house and give me 
a dollar or a quarter. After a little while he told me that my money was 
all gone." 

One of the saddest stories told me at White Earth will be found 
in Official Affidavit 359, that of O-nah-yah-wah-be-tung. This man 
had valuable pine timber which, he states, he sold for $7000. The 
Indian having received the money, the grafters immediately got busy. 
One William Lufkins, a mixed-blood, persuaded him to pay $1800 for a 
ranch building. This was moved from some distance on the prairie to 
Ogema. A large sum was charged for moving the building. I heard that 
$400 was charged for moving it across the railroad tracks, which procedure 
occupied less than an hour. After the house was established on a lot front- 
ing on the main street of Ogema, the Indian was told that he should go 
into business as do white people. It was suggested that he start a feed 
store. He trusted one or two men to visit St. Paul and buy flour and feed 
in order to stock his store. These men squandered a thousand dollars in 
dissipation. He sent them three hundred more and they returned with a 
small quantity of feed stock. Thus the man's money dwindled until he 
was defrauded out of his entire $7000, and is today a pauper. 

In the following cases I have stated the facts briefly, without giving 
the Indian's name. 

In the testimony on file in case numbered 382, it appears that a 
certain attorney and prominent man, had brought before him an Indian 
woman who did not wish to sign papers, and the attorney said if she did 
not do so he would have her arrested and put in jail. The proprietor of 
a lodging house at Detroit, according to this sworn statement, gave these 
Indians liquor. 



State of Minnesota ) 

)ss 

County of Becker ) 

On this 8th day of September, A.D. 1909, before 
roe, E. B. Linnen, U. S. Inspector, Dept. of Interior, personally came 
Gah -bay -yah -nah -quod -doke, who being first duly sworn by me according 
to law, deposes and says: 

I am a full blood Indian of the Otter Tail Pillager 
band of Chippewa Indians belonging to and residing upon the White 
Earth Indian reservation in Minnesota; my father's name was Be-wash and 
my mother's name was Mah-ge-moze-o-quay ; the names of my grandfather 
and grandmother on my father's side were Con -duh -wah -we -7,00 and 

; the names of my grand- 
father and grandmother on my mother's side were Wah -be -gay-cake and 
Ah-go-mo; and each of said persons was a full blood Indian. 



Her mark. 



Witness^to mar/?. 



Gah-bay -yah -nah -quod -doke 



X 



We, the undersigned being first duly sworn according to law, 
each for himself and not' one for the other, all depose and say: 

That we are Chippewa Indians belonging to and residing upon 
the White Earth Indian reservation in Minnesota; that we are personally 
acquainted with the above mentioned deponent and know her to be a full 
blood Chippewa Indian; that the names of her parents and grandparents 
are as set forth above, and that each of said persons was a full blood 
Indian. 



Witnes 



His mark 



May-zhuck-ke-ge- shift 
Witness 



Day-cah-me-ge-shig 



Gay -me -wah -nah -na -q 

Subscribe $ 
September, A.D. 1909/ 



His mark 



His mark 





; G a y -b ay -y ah -mah - g e - wab e\ 
Witness ^ His mark 




Ah-yah-baince 

Witness His marX 



Bay-bah -dwung-way - . 



rn to before me this 8th day of 




U. S. Irspector, Dept. of Interior. 



Copy of Official Affidavit with thumb-print signatures, used by 
Linnen-Moorehead Investigators 



82 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



According to affidavit numbered eleven, banker M. J. Kolb at Ogema 
sent for one of the Indians and stated that he wished to buy the pine on 
the minor son's allotment. The minor was aged fourteen. The Indian 
went to Kolb's bank and found another man there, who stated that, al- 
though the child was a minor, yet he would buy the timber and stand the 
risk. Kolb paid the Indian 8100 and ten dollars of this was given to Jim 
Bunker., the interpreter. A month later the banker sent for the Indian 
and stated. "You better bring your trust patent of your original allotment 
to me or you will probably be arrested." Thus Kolb obtained the Indian's 
original allotment in addition to the minor child's pine. I might continue 
repeating similar instances. 

Two important and shocking statements I reproduce here. Government 
official numbers. 24? and 92. They are self-explanatory. 

State of Minnesota I gg 

COEXTY OF MAHXOMEX J 

On this 23d day of August, A.D. 1909, before me. W. K. 
Moorehead. Spec. U. S. Indian Agent, personally came Mayn- 
way-way-be-nace. who being first duly sworn by me according to 
law., on oath deposes and says: 

Two years ago Mr. Waller of Waubun, Minn., came to my 
house for the trust patent of my original allotment Xo. 2321 
for E2XE — Sec. 8. 144-40. This was hardwood timber. He 
gave me 820 cash. When he came he made this statement, 44 1 
have already arranged at the Court House to have you arrested, 
and have come over here to get your trust patent to take care of 
your land for you." My wife, Ah-be-dah-sah-mo-quay, and 
my children, Antoine and Maggie Mah-geed) were witnesses. 
Andrew Vanoss came with Mr. Waller as interpreter. Vanoss gave 
me whiskey and also presented me with a pint bottle of whiskey. 
Mr. Waller took the trust patent and handed me 820 in cash. 
As near as I can judge, my giving up the trust patent cancelled 
the obligations incurred in the mortgage referred to in the af- 
fidavit signed by my wife, Ah-be-dah-sah-mo-quay. 

In the fall of 1908 I went to Mahnomen with the Trust Patent 
of my additional allotment Xo. 1702 for X2SW— Sec.36— 145-38. 
This may be timber land. I saw L. O. Johnson, of the Prairie 
Land Company. I sold the land to Johnson for 8364. He did 
not ask any questions as to my blood relationship. I signed 



INDIAN TESTIMONY — AFFIDAVITS 



papers, my wife was present. Willie Brunette was interpreter. 
I was drinking at the time. 

Three years ago Fargo and Peake of Ogema, Minn., came to 
my house and asked if I had any dead allotments to sell. I told 
them I had three: Naysh-kah-we-gah-bow, age 36 yrs.; Mah- 
co-day-we-gwaince, and Zo-zed, age about 4 yrs. Fargo and 
Peake said that they would take these three trust patents of 
the dead allotments to be probated. They also stated that when 
my grandchildren (who were also heirs) come of age they would 
pay the value of these allotments. This summer they paid me 
$130. This is all I have ever received. My wife and I signed 
papers. Willie Lufkin, was interpreter. I paid him one dollar 
($1.00). 

About the middle of June, 1909, I took the trust patent of 
my deceased grandchild, Simon Smith, to J. T. Van Metre of 
Mahnomen, Minn., to be probated. I have received no money. 
This was allotment No. for 

The allotment of Naysh-kah-we-gah-bow was No. 2323 
for S2SE — Sec. 2 — 144-41; of Mah-co-day-we-gwaince was 

No. for — ; of Zo-zed was 

No. 2326 for E2SE— Sec. 5—144-40. His mark 

MAYN-WAY-WAY-BE-NACE. 

Witness to mark 
Georgia Lacy 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 23d day of August, 
A.D. 1909. 

Warren K. Moorehead 

Spec. U. S. Indian Agent 

State of Minnesota 
County of Becker 

Margaret Coburn, or 
Margaret Colburne Age 45. 

Allottee Orig. 2951, Lots 1-2- &9, 
Sec. 6, Twp 142, R 42. 

On this 6th day of September, A.D. 1909, before me, W. K. 
Moorehead, Spec. U. S. Indian Agent, personally came Margaret 
Colburne, who being first duly sworn by me according to law, 
deposes and says: 




THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



That about two years ago, in August, 1907, a man named 
Ephraim Budrow came to my house at Cloquet, Minn., and 
finding me there alone and observing my crippled condition, 
said, "I am surprised to see you in this condition. Why don't 
you sell some of your land?" He asked me how much land I had. 
This man seemed to know about my land. He asked for the two 
trust patents of my deceased husband, Joe Colburne, No. 2950 
for SW|4 of SW|4, Sec. 32 & SE|4 of SE!4, Sec. 31, T 143-42, 
for my own trust patent, as above, and for that of my child 
Joseph, No. 2953 for Lots 4 and 12, Sec. 30, Twp 143, R 42. Said 
Budrow walked back and forth in the room in an excited and 
nervous manner, and presently he went out before I could stop 
him, taking the three trust patents with him. Because of my 
crippled condition I could not run after him but managed to crawl 
to the window and called to him to stop. He paid no attention 
to me. 

My son-in-law came home about noon. His name is Frank 
Houle. He asked me what I was crying about and I told him that 
said Budrow had run off with the three trust patents belonging to 
my husband (dec'd), myself and the boy. My son-in-law started at 
once for town to hunt for Budrow but could not find him. That 
same evening, however, my son-in-law caught hold of this Ephraim 
Budrow as Budrow was boarding the train and told Budrow to 
give up the trust patents he had taken from me. Budrow reached 
into a pocket and handed out some papers to my son-in-law, 
which my son-in-law thought were the three trust patents but 
which proved to be only the trust patent of my child Joseph. 
Three days after, when we managed to get enough money, my son- 
in-law went to Ephraim Budrow's house at Fish Lake, White 
Earth reservation and said Budrow promised to give up the other 
two trust patents the next morning, but during the night Budrow 
went away. My son-in-law waited for Budrow two days but 
Budrow failed to turn up. 

About two months ago, when I was in Waubun, I was taken 
sick and needing some money, the lawyers were very insistent that 
I touch a pen, and after I did so I received $400 for myself and 
$100 for my son. They asked me if I was a mixed-blood and I told 
them no, that I was a full-blood. I was not sworn to these papers. 
There was no interpreter and I did not understand the papers. 

Her mark 
MARGARET COLBURNE. 



INDIAN TESTIMONY — AFFIDAVITS 85 



Witness to mark 
C. E. Dennis. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of September, 
A.D. 1909, at White Earth, Minn. 

Warren K. Moorehead, 
Spec. U. S. Indian Agent. 

It should be clear to all persons that those in authority should have 
informed these Indians that a trust patent lost did not mean the loss 
of property. By sending a small fee to Washington a duplicate trust 
patent would be issued to any Indian who could prove that he had lost 
his. Indians were allowed to remain in ignorance of this, and were led 
to believe that the trust patent was everything. Therefore, when they lost 
a trust patent they supposed they had lost their allotment. 

The entire space assigned to this chapter could be devoted to a discus- 
sion of health conditions but it is too heart-rending to take up in detail. 
The Chippewa Indians are suffering from tuberculosis, scrofula, trachoma 
and other diseases. Thirty-two per cent of the children in the Government 
schools on examination by Government physician, Dr. Edwards, were found 
to have trachoma; fifty per cent of the Indians living at Pine Point have 
tuberculosis. Unless drastic remedies are adopted the Ojibwa will soon 
be a thing of the past. The Indian Office has built a hospital, and has 
rented of the Episcopal church a small one, yet these care for but a fraction 
of the sick. 

The Catholic priest, Father Roman Homar, in charge of the Mission 
at Rice River, reported to me under date of April 29, 1910, that there was 
more suffering than ever before in his territory; that Indians died that 
winter, that many of the Indians were compelled to hunt rabbits, not for 
pleasure, but from necessity, and that practically all the rabbits on the 
reservation were killed. He exhausted his little fund and much of his own 
salary in caring for the unfortunate. Early in April he had utilized all 
the lumber at his disposal for the making of coffins, and for the last Indian 
that he buried, just previous to writing the letter, he made the coffin out 
of the church wood-box. 

Rev. Father Felix, Catholic Missionary at Pine Point, and Rev. Wjlkins 
Smith, Episcopal missionary at Twin Lakes, both wrote to me of the 
great suffering and poverty, sickness and death, and how their resources 
were taxed beyond their ability to meet the same, in order to relieve even 
such Indians as were connected with their various missions. The large 
orphan school near White Earth village is crowded. 



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INDIAN TESTIMONY — AFFIDAVITS 



87 



The Government boarding school is now attended by about 300 pupils 
and does excellent work. At the time of our investigation, however, it 
was in a most unsatisfactory condition, and immediate reforms had to be 
inaugurated. 

Prior to the Linnen-Moorehead investigation there was entirely too 
much swindling of school children. One would imagine that pupils in a 
Government school, and under the protection of the American flag, would 
be safer than pupils in ordinary institutions not governmental in character. 
Yet there are many cases on record where children, little and big, have 
lost their allotments while attending school. For this the Indian Office 
does not seem so much to blame as the teachers and superintendents who 
should have refused admission to persons who came to transact business 
with minors. It is gratifying to learn that the Commissioner has issued 
strict orders, and now it is impossible for strangers, land sharks, or others 
to enter Government boarding schools and swindle minors out of their 
property. My only regret is that the strong, right arm of the Government 
did not protect these poor people and their children prior to my arrival 
at White Earth. 

Miss Phillomea Donnell was a pupil in the school at Flandreau, South 
Dakota, where many Indian children are assembled each year for instruc- 
tion. She lived as do the others, in large dormitories. She testifies that 
while she was there, a prominent, educated Indian appeared and entered 
the music room without opposition on the part of any teacher or person 
in authority, and sent for Miss Donnell. She came down from her room, 
and the man produced a folded paper and a fountain pen. He said that 
there was a dispute as to how her name was spelled on the Government 
roll. There was some discussion about it, and he secured her signature 
on each side of this paper in order, as he assured her, to correct any error 
in the record. So she signed the paper in both places, and he gave her a 
folded piece of paper, or an envelope, and told her it was a present for 
her. Indians frequently make each other presents when visiting, and so 
she did not look at this paper until she had been in her room some time, 
as he told her it was a surprise. When she looked at the paper she found 
it was a check for $500. Then, realizing that her allotment of eighty acres, 
near the town of Mahnomen, was a valuable allotment, she concluded that 
probably he had made her sign a paper the result of which would be the 
loss of her land. She immediately sought the superintendent of that 
school and he referred the matter to Inspector Linnen and myself. The 
Indian had come to the school in an automobile to hasten matters. There 
were no witnesses to the signature, and he had no power of attorney in 



88 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



South Dakota, but only in Minnesota. Yet in a few days the deed was 
recorded with the signature of witnesses. 

In our capacity as Government officials we reported this outrageous 
proceeding to the Department, prepared carefully-drawn affidavits cover- 
ing the entire circumstances, and rushed them to Washington to enable 
the Commissioner to take immediate action. Up to the last that I heard 
from Miss Donnell, she had obtained no relief from the Government, but 
has been compelled to pay $57 out of her own funds (which were limited) 
to obtain her own land. The buyer would not have given it up but for the 
fact that he knew we were ready to proceed against him. I cite the case 
of this girl in detail, although there are others which could be mentioned 
where frauds were practised on minor children in the Government schools. 

When the Graham Committee hearings were published, the affidavits 
and correspondence were made public. The Indian is supposed to have 
persuaded Miss Donnell to speak in his favor. One of the Department 
of Justice officials told me that the case against him was dropped. 

We learned that certain educated Indians made a practice of going 
to these Government schools, calling the pupils into the parlor or the 
music-room or parade-ground, and transacting business with them. 



CHAPTER VIII. THE ROLL. STORIES. RESPONSIBILITY 

FOR WHITE EARTH 



Many years ago the employees at White Earth Agency made a roll 
of the Chippewa Indians. One would suppose that so important a docu- 
ment as a register of all the Indians would be accurate. But the original 
roll, as on file at the White Earth office, in 1909, bristled with inaccuracies. 
For instance, the name Mah-geed is the Ojibwa pronunciation of Maggie. 
Many of the Indian girls were named Mah-geed by the priests and mission- 
aries. Those who made the Government roll apparently thought that 
Mah-geed was a distinguished Indian name, so they had entered up quite 
a number of Mah-geeds. No other name is added. 

The Ojibwa name for old woman is Min-de-moi-yen. To the clerks 
who made the roll this sounded like the name of an Indian, so they 
solemnly set down many such names. "Young girl" is E-quay-zince. There 
are a large number of E-quay-zinces in the roll. Yet, mind you, this is 
the official roll, to which I objected, and to which the Indian Office em- 
ployees replied that if it was so entered on the roll it must be correct! 
When Indians are assembled together, if one would call for E-quay-zince 
or Mah-geed, it would be precisely as if, in an audience of two or three 
hundred white persons, the speaker should ask for a "young girl" named 
Mary to come forward, or request that "the lady" come to the platform. 

By whom, aside from old Joe Pereault, an illiterate and troublesome 
French-Canadian, who was employed for some time in the Agent's office 
at White Earth, this roll was made, I do not know. 

As the roll we found in the Agent's office in 1909 had been there for 
years, I have often wondered how the authorities could differentiate be- 
tween the various Mah-geeds. If annuity money is to be paid an Indian 
woman, E-quay-zince; what E-quay-zince would receive said payment? 
And the same is true with reference to Min-de-moi-yen. If on an occasion 
of great moment all the women of these names should appear at the agency 
simultaneously, how would the employees be able to deal with them? The 
spectacle would be amusing, and complicated, to say the least. 

Inspector Linnen and myself made an accurate roll of the full-blood 
Indians. We did not trouble ourselves concerning the mixed-bloods, who 
were citizens, and under the law can dispose of their property. We were 
sent to Minnesota to make an investigation as to the full-blood Indians, 
and our work was confined to these Indians. If I remember correctly, 
we entered five hundred and fifteen names. 



90 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The oldest and most reliable men of the tribe were assembled at the 
various points where we investigated. These men knew all of the Indians 
living in certain parts of the reservation, and their parents. In many in- 
stances, they knew the grandparents and whether they were full-blood 
or mixed-blood Indians. Through the assistance of two or three inter- 
preters, we carefully examined the witnesses in the presence of those old 
men. An affidavit was drawn, in accordance with the facts, and each 
witness attached his thumb-print thereto. On page 81 I present a photo- 
graphic copy of an affidavit taken by Mr. Linnen. It will be ob- 
served by study of this that the testimony was exact in detail, and the 
Indian proved to be a full-blood. If this plan were followed on all the 
reservations in the United States, accurate lists of Indian population 
would result. The list was made on ethnological lines. The trouble has 
been, that men who were not acquainted with Indian customs or descent, 
and who did not assemble together a sufficient number of the older Indians, 
have attempted to make these rolls. 

At the conclusion of our work at White Earth, the affidavits, the rolls, 
and other papers were given to the Indian Office, and submitted by them 
to the Department of Justice. The Department accepted our affidavits 
and put them in legal form and began prosecutions, which have extended 
down to the present time. 

When Hon. Marsden C. Burch had charge of the White Earth cases 
for the Attorney General, Mr. E. C. O'Brien served as his assistant. Hon. 
C. C.Daniels succeeded Judge Burch. and Mr. O'Brien is associated with 
him in the prosecutions. Mr. O'Brien kindly read proofs of my White 
Earth chapters and offered suggestions. Mr. O'Brien says: — 

"All suits are based on the Linnen-Moorehead roll, except a few sug- 
gested by Mr. Hinton. The Hinton roll includes all Indians on the reserv- 
ation, and was prepared to determine who were entitled to fee simple 
patents."* 

Mr. John H. Hinton was appointed Special Agent and sent to White 
Earth to make a new roll of the Ojibwa. I was informed he added many 
names, but Mr. O'Brien's recent letter indicates that this is not correct. 
The "interests" responsible for the White Earth scandal, petitioned Con- 
gress a year ago to make a new roll of the Ojibwa. This bill nearly passed. 
A Commission of two is now making a roll of allotments, which Mr. O'Brien 
assures me are not included in the suits. 

All lovers of justice may pray that no new roll be attempted. The 
Linnen-Moorehead list is accurate and has stood the test. 



*Letter of Dec. 2nd, 1914. Federal Building, Minneapolis. 



THE ROLL AND STORIES 



91 



Having assembled as our witnesses the most reliable old Indians, 
we were able to check up the many errors in the Government roll. Fre- 
quently there would be as many as forty or fifty Ojibwa assembled in the 
schoolroom where our hearings were held. When the interpreter called 
out such a name as Min-de-moi-yen, or E-quay-zince, or Mah-geed, the 
other Indians would shout with laughter, and when they had recovered 
sufficiently they would state they did not know what individual Indian 
was named as there were a score who might respond to that appellation. 

The Ojibwa Indians have had a number of attorneys in the past 
twenty, or twenty -five years. None of these men seem to have con- 
cerned themselves with the prevention of the wholesale thefts of land and 
timber. The gentleman who acted as attorney at the time of our arrival, 
became active toward the end of our investigation, and did what he could 
to secure justice for the Indians. But he had done nothing previously 
along such lines, and his activities savored of a death-bed repentance. 
The Secretary of the Interior did not approve his re-election. The full- 
blood Indians were against the employment of the attorney, and the mixed- 
blood Indians, headed by Gus Beaulieu, were very insistent that the 
attorney be retained. During the three years prior to 1909, the attorney 
had received in salary and expenses about $20,000. 

A large council was called in July by the Indians to talk over the 
attorneyship. Mr. Linnen and myself were spectators, and while we could 
have helped the poor, ignorant full-bloods, because of our official position, 
we were compelled to sit in silence and see Gus Beaulieu and John Carl, 
Rev. Clement Beaulieu and others manipulate the meeting. The first 
morning, there were sufficient full-bloods to have outvoted the Beaulieu 
element, two to one. But Gus Beaulieu and his brother, Rev. Clement 
Beaulieu, consumed the time in speech-making, while Ben Fairbanks 
sent mixed-bloods in teams all over the reservation to bring in those who 
would vote according to Gus Beaulieu's desires. At the afternoon session 
the full-blood Indians might have carried their point, but they spent their 
time answering the arguments of the two Beaulieus and others, being 
cleverly heckled into making long speeches. 

The next morning, the council adjourned to a larger hall, in the center 
of White Earth village. By this time the mixed-blood element predom- 
inated and a very motley crowd was assembled, including a number of 
saloon-keepers of Ogema and other towns, and several interpreters who 
were mentioned in the affidavits as having acted as go-betweens in land 
and timber deals. To shorten my story, the poor full-blood Indians were 
outvoted, they were asked to write out ballots (which they did not under- 



OJIBWA GRAVEYARD, WHITE EARTH MINNESOTA 

X early all of these burials are those of consumptives 
the past few years 



THE ROLL AND STORIES 



93 



stand and most of them could not write) and the attorney was re-elected. 
We made a report against the council, and the Secretary of the Interior 
sustained our objections. 

In addition to the Chippewa attorney, there was also a Chippewa 
Commissioner. The Graham Investigating Committee considered him 
at some length. 

Senator Clapp asked that Darwin H. Hall be appointed Chippewa 
Commissioner. The history of this appointment is interesting, but 
must not (at present) be related. Previous to that, Hall had been 
employed at various intervals until his employment totaled eight 
years and cost $31,845. In this connection it is well to remark that 
the investigation made by Linnen and myself, including the employment 
of thirty-seven persons, and lasting all summer and part of the fall, cost 
for my part $3,066.64. Mr. Linnen's expenses could not have been more 
than a third of that sum. 

Hall came to White Earth while Linnen and I were investigating, 
and was of no value to us. He helped us in no way. He was detailed to 
move some 200 or 300 Mille Lac Indians about one hundred miles 
(more or less). I had offered to move these same Indians in sixty days, 
but my offer met with no cordial response. During the twenty months 
that Hall was in office he moved fifty Indians, according to my information, 
and fifty-one according to the Indian Office report. At that rate, his job 
would have lasted nearly seven years! It cost him $167.50 per head to 
move an Indian one hundred miles. It would have cost $33,500 to move 
200 Indians to White Earth! 

I met Hall at the Hiawatha Hotel, W 7 hite Earth, prior to the arrival 
of Mr. Linnen. W r e stepped out into the street in order not to be over- 
heard and I told him of the dreadful situation of the Chippewa Indians 
and how that he could help us right their wrongs. He informed me that 
he had no sympathy with the investigation, and I could see his attitude 
was hostile. 

The Secretary of the Bureau of Catholic Missions, Charles S. Lusk, 
wrote to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in August, 1910, calling 
attention to the sad condition of these Indians, that the removal of a 
portion of them to White Earth had brought them under the influence 
of one Gus Beaulieu and other politicians. They were promised houses, 
lands and farming implements. In Washington three years ago I met a 
delegation of the Ojibwa. Three of the members of this body were per- 
sonally known to me, and the Chief Ah-bow-we-ge-shig well known. They 
told me that the last thing that Darwin Hall did was to summon the Mille 



94 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Lacs and persuade them to move a considerable distance from their homes. 
He left them in camp, promising to return shortly and move them to 
White Earth. These Indians waited two weeks. They had little food. 
Mr. Hall did not move them, and they suffered privations, and at last 
returned to their former homes. The story of the Mille Lacs reads as a 
page from Helen Hunt Jackson's "Century of Dishonor," yet this 
scandal did not occur in the old days, but is recent history. Who is 
responsible? 

Almost any other body of men and women in the world would be 
utterly discouraged if they had passed through the same experience that 
fell to the lot of the Ojibwa Indians of White Earth, Minnesota, during 
twenty -five years. I am acquainted with no community in the East where, 
in the minds and hearts of the citizens, there would remain even a particle 
of respect, or regard, or confidence, in any government, or culture, or 
civilization, responsible for such a condition. The sole saving grace is the 
natural cheerfulness and optimism of the Ojibwa people, as a whole. Many 
of them are discouraged, and most of them will not farm or work, for the 
reason that the farming and working in the past resulted in those who were 
industrious being disciplined, (see page 68) and those who were indolent 
being rewarded. No white man or woman would work under similar cir- 
cumstances. Yet, contrary to all precedents, they are cheerful and optim- 
istic. They have a keen sense of humor, they laugh and joke among them- 
selves. I desire to vary the monotony of this recital of wrongs and suffer- 
ings, by illustrating a few incidents. 

The old witnesses and the interpreters, after dinner one noon hour, were 
having an animated discussion. A number of us were lolling about on the 
ground, smoking, and one of the officials happened at this moment to 
stretch and yawn. One of the old Indians immediately laughed and said 
something which caused the other Indians to shout with merriment. The 
interpreter turned to me and said, "Mah-een-gonce says, that that is the 
first white man he has seen to open his mouth and a lie did not hop out." 

When the Indians were assembled in council on one occasion, a long 
letter from Washington arrived which was read by the clerk, and inter- 
preted by John Lufkins, a Carlisle graduate. At the conclusion of a tedious 
interpretation requiring an hour, a prominent Indian, whom we called 
"Shorty," but whose correct name was Ah-bow-we-ge-shig, arose and 
uttered a few words not requiring more than fifteen or twenty seconds in 
utterance. His reply to the long, well-worded, indefinite Washington letter 
is worthy of preservation. "That letter is like the food that we Indians 
have today, all soup and no meat." 



THE ROLL AND STORIES 



95 



When some of the preliminary trials were heard at White Earth, 
previous to action by the Department of Justice, the old Indian Bay- 
gah-dwun-gay-aush, eighty-two years of age, and who was possessed of 
remarkable memory, was on the witness stand. This Indian knew the 
family history of several hundred persons and was entirely familiar with 
all parts of the reservation. The lawyers, however, would ask him where 
was located a piece of land described as Township 4, Section 15, Range 142, 
and who owned it, instead of asking the Indian, "Who owns the land at 
the head of Otter Creek? " or "Who used to live at the head of Otter Creek? " 
The attorneys purposely asked the Indian in a way to confuse him, in 
order to substantiate their contention that Indian testimony was not 
reliable. 

Having stood this annoying and unfair grilling for a long time, old 
Bay-bah-dwun-gay-aush said something to the interpreter which caused 
the other Indians to laugh. His remark was, "Why does the lawyer ask 
me where the Indian land is? The white lawyers know better than I, 
because they now own most of the lands." I believe that he added that 
they had stolen them, or words to that effect. 

Inspector Linnen, Mr. Allen and myself were criticised by those who 
sought, unsuccessfully, to discredit our work; for the reason that we looked 
on during a squaw dance. One reverend gentleman contended that we 
were encouraging "pagan ceremonies". In fact, he reproached one of 
the Government officials rather severely. The Government official denied 
having taken part in a pagan dance, whereupon the reverend gentleman 
asked him, "Have you seen many pagan dances?" "I can truthfully 
say," replied the official, "that I never observed but one dance which 
might truly be called pagan." The reverend gentleman seemed shocked, 
but made bold to inquire: "On what reservation?" "It was on no reserv- 
ation. The only real pagan dance I ever witnessed was the inaugural 
ball in Washington during Harrison's administration." 

On another occasion, toward the end of the investigation, we were 
visited by a reverend gentleman much concerned as to the welfare of the 
Indians, a most worthy person, but who seemed to concern himself with 
details, rather than the great important questions and problems of White 
Earth. There was a good deal of drinking among the Indians, and the 
police made frequent arrests. The day following an arrest, when the 
Indians had become sober, they were brought into Major Howard's office 
where a sort of "fatherly court" was held. These hearings might be 
roughly compared to police court affairs in other communities. Mr. 
Linnen and myself occasionally went in, but usually we were in the school- 



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room taking testimony. Because we did not assume charge of all those 
multitudinous details, the worthy gentleman from the East seemed to 
think that we were neglecting our duties. He thought we did not seem 
appalled by the laxity of morals, etc. Such was not the case, for we had 
already made a lengthy report to the Secretary of the Interior and Com- 
missioner of Indian Affairs on the whiskey curse and on immorality. How- 
ever, he spoke to an educated Indian, and rather reprimanded us. The 
Indian's answer was one of the best I have ever heard. He said, "Doctor, 
I will give you an Indian illustration. The shed, the stable and the house 
are all on fire. Linnen and Moorehead are trying to save the house first, 
and the stable next, but the shed is doomed. You want them to abandon 
work on the house and begin on the shed." 

Today the Department of Justice has before it something like sixteen 
hundred cases involving lands at White Earth. Several times have I 
written the Honorable Attorney General for information. While some 
lands have been returned, and some reforms instituted, it must be 
admitted that there has not been the prompt, efficient "clean-up" for which 
we hoped. This has had a bad effect elsewhere on both Whites and Indians. 
It is my firm conviction that white people are encouraged to defraud 
Indians, for the reason that they are willing to "take a chance." That is, 
they know that the Indian property can be obtained in a short time, whereas 
the procedure of recovery will drag through months, (and usually years) 
and that the Government stands more than an even chance of being de- 
feated. It was defeated in the first White Earth cases. 

The Indians take the point of view that the grafters are more powerful 
than the Great Father at Washington. While this seems entirely illogical, 
nevertheless it is entirely true — from the Indians' point of view. The 
Indian loses his property under such conditions as occurred at White 
Earth, by the removal of restrictions, in a few days, or a few weeks, else- 
where in a few months, or not more than a few years. He knows that 
this is true and that it occurs all over the United States. The Govern- 
ment does not spend a few weeks, or a few months in recovering the prop- 
erty, save in very rare instances. Usually, the Government cases drag 
on for years. The Indians write letters to the men who began the investi- 
gation, or the attorneys who tried the cases, and they receive just such 
replies as fill the files in my office: "I have the honor to advise you that 
the Department is doing all it can to bring the cases to trial. There was 
much testimony to be taken before they could be tried on their merits.* 
Some are now almost ready for trial, and we hope to submit them before 



* Letter of Aug. 29th, 1914. 



THE ROLL AND STORIES 



97 



the close of the calendar year;" or, "The Department is doing all possible;" 
or, "The delays are due to the activity of the attorneys on the other 
side;" or, "It has been found that according to Act 462, 57th Congress, 
that these white persons are empowered", etc.; or, "The information 
contained in your communication of the 13th has been submitted to our 
legal department," etc., etc. From the Indian point of view, there is 
anything and everything under the sun except the return of the property 
or the punishment of the guilty. This is strong language, but it is abso- 
lutely true. So long as we permit Indians to lose their property without 
let or hindrance from us, our Indian citizens will lose their property; and 
so long as we administer our justice in such a manner that the burden of 
the proof seems to rest on the poor Indian rather than upon the white 
grafter, just so long will the bulk of the Indians care neither for industry 
nor education, neither for civilization nor Christianity. The Indian must 
have the same standing and the same justice in court as the white man. 
Furthermore, there must be a swift administration of justice, and some 
means devised whereby the tricks of grafters' lawyers may be overcome. 

The Inspection Service, under the supervision of Honorable E. B. 
Linnen, is now what it should have been ten years ago. I went into this 
phase of the White Earth situation in 1909, very thoroughly. There had 
been Special Agents and Inspectors at White Earth time and again. 

One who had done real work was Mrs. Elsie E. Newton, one of the 
most able and conscientious women in the Indian Service. She had visited 
the sick and the suffering, had made recommendations, had done her part 
toward remedying intolerable conditions. 

How the others could have visited such a place as White Earth and 
not reported on actual conditions is incomprehensible, unless we accept 
Mr. Valentine's address at Lake Mohonk, in October, 1909, in which he 
stated that too many of his Inspectors were blind and deaf! I talked 
with one or two men now out of the Service, who used to be Special Agents, 
and they did not even know the names of all the places on the reservation! 
I don't know of one of them who went into the cabins and sat down and 
talked to the Indians and heard their troubles. Most of them drove from 
the railroad station at Ogema, over to the Agent's office and talked with 
Mr. Michelet, the agent preceding Howard. 

I would close this chapter on White Earth with an incident which 
occurred at Pine Point during the first investigation, March-April, 1909. 

The Chief of the Otter Tail Pilligers lives at Pine Point. One of the 
most dramatic instances which occurred during the investigation happened 
in the latter part of March before the large party, employed during the 



98 



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summer, had begun their labors. It was cold and we were compelled 
to hold our examinations indoors. Just opposite the office was a school- 
room in which some sixty Indian children were assembled under the charge 
of three or four white teachers. The chief had lost a number of children 
and other relatives, and thus he and his wife were heirs to about eleven 
allotments. These were easily worth 845.000 or 850,000, being mostly 
pine timber. With the exception of one or two others, this man had been 
robbed of more property than anyone else, and it was pathetic to hear him 
state how certain men in whom he trusted, had taken advantage of his 
ignorance. When he had finished his long recital of wrongs, I remarked, 
''You must have lost entire faith in the white people and in the Govern- 
ment at Washington.*' "Oh. no," he replied. "I think that Washington 
would give me justice if only the men there could hear my story." Just 
as he completed this statement, the school session came to an end, and we 
heard through the thin partition the childish voices singing in unison 
"My Country, 'Tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty" — and this was the 
first time in my life that the words sounded in my ears like a hollow mockery 
and a sham. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WHITE EARTH 

Omitting ethnological reports and Warren's book {see page 4-5) those who desire to study conditions 
at White Earth. Leech Lake, Red Lake, and Cass Lake, are referred to the reports of the Secretary 
of the Interior, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the Board of Indian Commissioners the past twenty 
years. These contain all administrative details. 

The legal aspect of the prosecution will be found in pamphlets issued by the Department of Justice, 
and the U. S. Court of Claims. 

White Earth has been the subject of much investigation on the part of Committees of the Senate 
and House of Representatives. The most lengthy and exhaustive investigation, covering every phase 
of the subject, is the report of the Committee on Expenditure in the Interior Department, Honorable 
James M. Graham of Illinois, Chairman. House Resolution Xo. 103; July -25, 1911 -April, 191-2; 
-2759 pp. Those who care to follow the subject further, will find in this lengthy report an enormous 
amount of material. 

A synopsis entitled "The Lesson of White Earth" will be found in the report of the 30th Conference 
of Friends of the Indian and Other Dependent Peoples held at Lake Alokonk, N. Y., October, 1912. 



CHAPTER IX. THE SIOUX AND THE 
MESSIAH CRAZE 

The Sioux is one of our most famous Indian nations. As the Iroquois 
activities two centuries ago placed them in the forerank of American 
aborigines, so the Sioux from the days of Lewis and Clark down to the 
present have been much in evidence. They are primarily a strong, hearty 
race possessed of dominant spirit. Their reservations at Standing Rock, 
Rosebud, Pine Ridge, etc., contain most of the 28,000 natives of this stock. 
Reference to Major Powell's linguistic map will acquaint readers with the 
enormous extent of territory they once occupied. The Commissioner's 
map of 1913 shows that these people today own a small fraction of their 
original holdings. 

The general progress of the Sioux, the famous men that they have 
produced, I have covered in the chapters treating of Education, Red 
Cloud, Sitting Bull, etc. 

They were known to the army officers as Horse Indians, and to many 
others as Plains Indians. The horse was to the Sioux what the birch bark 
canoe was to the Ojibwa or the Penobscot. In early days their habitat 
was almost entirely confined to the Great Plains, the foothills of the Black 
Hills and the Missouri River. They were in Minnesota at an early period, 
but were driven westward and southward by the Ojibwa. The older 
Ojibwa claim that the Sioux frequently surprised hunting parties of these 
woods Indians, and that whenever the Ojibwa were caught out on the plain 
by the Sioux, they were invariably defeated with great loss. The Ojibwa 
therefore resorted to the strategy of luring the Sioux into the woods. Where 
this was possible, the expert woodcraft of the Ojibwa came into play and 
they generally defeated their enemies with heavy slaughter. 

1850 to 1868 found the Sioux supremacy on the Great Plains un- 
questioned. With the coming of the railroad, and steamboat navigation 
on the Missouri, and the great influx of white traders, their powers declined 
as I have indicated in some detail on other pages. 

The story of the Brule, Miniconjou, Oglala, Teton and other divisions, 
so far as history is concerned, is pretty much the same. The buffalo was 
their chief support, in fact their very life was bound up in this animal. 
The wild horse was a later acquisition. In order to understand them 
thoroughly, the past fifty years, we should study in detail the life of Red 
Cloud, that of Sitting Bull, and in addition the Messiah craze, as pre- 
viously mentioned. 



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The contrast between the Pine Ridge of today and that of 1890 is almost 
beyond belief. In 1890, one of the strangest ceremonies imaginable was 
in full swing. In 1909.. when I visited Pine Ridge, exactly nineteen years 
later. I found the Sioux working upon their allotments, farming, digging 
irrigation ditches, and doing their best toward "taking the white man's 
road." On the plains where once clustered the tipis of the Ghost dancers 
were the large, modern brick buildings of the Ogiala school, a most suc- 
cessful institution where young men and women are trained in the arts. 
Certainly the progress of these Indians is more than surprising — it is 
remarkable. And it is chiefly due to the fact that they have had as their 
Superintendent or Agent a man who is in sympathy with them and who 
has not been replaced through political influence. Major John R. Brennan 
has supervised the famous old fighting Oglala Sioux for more than fifteen 
years. 

The progress of these Indians is. as I have said, creditable, but they 
are still poor, there is much suffering, and the increase in stock has not 
been as large as desired. Farming operations continue on a large scale, 
but the soil is more suited to grazing than farming, although the Indians 
do the best they can under the circumstances. 

All of the Sioux have so far progressed, that it is unthinkable that any 
fanaticism such as the Ghost dance will again overtake them. It is quite 
safe to predict that since all of their children have been educated and 
nearly all of the Sioux of every reservation have been allotted land in 
severalty, they will continue to progress, and if the ravages of tuberculosis 
are stayed, a large number of the descendants of the full-bloods will survive 
and become useful citizens. 

These Indians, after the surrender of Sitting Bull, were not much 
in the public eye until occurred the famous Ghost dance, or Messiah craze, 
and that being the chief event since the Custer fight we must needs devote 
considerable space to it. 

On several occasions during the past two centuries, in this country, 
Indian shamans, or priests, have prophesied the coming of an Indian 
Messiah. We shall at some future time consider this interesting subject 
in detail, but within the period embraced in this book, that peculiar craze 
which swept throughout the West and the South during the year 1890, 
and known as the Ghost Dance, is the chief religious event. 

Mr. James Mooney of the Bureau of Ethnology, published a very 
comprehensive monograph, in 1896, entitled "The Ghost Dance Religion", 
in the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. I shall 
draw the information presented in this chapter partly from Mr. Mooney's 



THE MESSIAH CRAZE 



101 



account, but more especially from my own investigation made in the winter 
of 1890 at Pine Ridge reservation, South Dakota, where among the Oglala 
Sioux the Messiah craze reached its culmination. 

The music of the Oglala dances was taken down at the time by Mr. 
George E. Bartlett (Huste) and myself. Our work was not copyrighted, 
and soon found its way into various publications, and after being har- 
monized, our music was soon in general use. It is no more than fair to 
say that as I lay no claim to special skill as an ethnologist, Mr. Mooney, 
having more training and experience in such studies, was able to present 
the songs and their translations more accurately. I believe, in my original 
articles published in the Illustrated American of New York in January 
and February, 1891, some of the Sioux word-syllables were not properly 
spaced, a number of accent marks omitted, and there were a few minor 
errors. But in the main the account as published was correct, although 
it was a "popular", rather than a technical paper. 

I did not investigate the Messiah in the West, although the new 
religion was inaugurated by him. The Sioux told me a great deal concerning 
him. He was known to them as Johnson, whereas Mooney gives as his 
proper name, Wovoka. In November, 1891, a year after the trouble at Pine 
Ridge, Mr. Mooney set out for Pine Ridge, where he spent considerable 
time, and then visited Walker Lake reservation in Nevada, where Wovoka 
(Johnson) lived. Here he obtained at first hand the information concern- 
ing the origin of the Messiah religion, and has presented us with a very 
valuable and interesting account. 

As in the case of all Messiahs or prophets, Wovoka was a dreamer. 
He inherited the spirit of prophecy, for his father before him was known 
as a prophet. The young man at the time of Mooney's visit, had never 
wandered beyond the valley wherein he resided — a small area, some 
thirty miles in length. Wovoka belonged to the Paiute, and his religion 
may be summed up in this statement which Mooney records. 

"When the sun died, I went up to heaven and saw God and all the 
people who had died a long time ago. God told me to come back and tell 
my people they must be good and love one another, and not fight, or steal, 
or lie. He gave me this dance to give to my people." 

If the missionaries and Government employees had seized upon the 
beautiful sentiment uttered in this remarkable paragraph, the new religion 
might have been turned to good account. Instead of that, as we shall see 
presently, an Agent utterly ignorant of Indians, saw in this sacred ceremony 
nothing beyond a "war dance" and he sent for troops — the very worst 
possible thing he could have done. 



102 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Mooney spent many days conversing with this interesting person, 
Wovoka, who told him that he had given to his people this dance about 
two years previously. He seems to have talked very freely with Mr. 
Mooney, permitting him to take his photograph, and when Mooney left, 
the prophet gave him as souvenirs to exhibit to his friends, a blanket of 
rabbit skins, sacred paint endowed with miraculous powers and which 
plays an important part in the ritual of the Ghost dance religion, and 
other trinkets. 

In Oklahoma Mooney met with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes and 
they gave him a written statement of the doctrine of Wovoka, which he 
was permitted to take to Washington to convince the authorities, "that 
there was nothing bad or hostile in the new religion." 

Mooney traveled many months West and South and his excellent 
report is evidence that he studied every phase of the dance. My work was 
confined to Pine Ridge where I studied the dance while it was in progress. . 
There it appeared in all its purity; there the white people made of it a 
"warlike" demonstration; there stupidity and ignorance transformed a 
peaceful, religious ceremony into a bloody tragedy — Wounded Knee. 

I employed three interpreters: the Weasel (Itonkasan,) George 
Bartlett (Huste), and a Frenchman, whose name I do not recall. 

Doctor Charles A. Eastman, the Sioux, some years after my account 
was published, informed me that it was correct, and he was present before, 
during and after the trouble at Pine Ridge, and knew all the actors 
intimately. 

Summing up Mr. Mooney's conclusions in a few words, the Messiah 
craze of 1890 was a mixture of Christianity and Indian religion. 

In a nutshell, the Messiah craze conformed to the sentiments of Jesus 
Christ. It was not expressed in His language, but the frequent repetitions 
of such sentiments as "you must not fight", and, "do injury to no one"; 
"give up the bad white man's ways"; "live as brothers as you did before 
the Whites came"; "Dance faithfully to the Great Spirit"; "Father and 
Mother are talking"; etc., indicate a belief in the better things of life and 
of the hereafter. Instead of hostility, peace was proclaimed; instead of 
avarice, the communistic life was advocated. 

There was only one discontented element, or discordant note, and 
that was the stand taken by Sitting Bull and a few other Indians, who 
seized upon this craze to further their own personal aims. Major Mc- 
Laughlin has commented in full on Sitting Bull's attitude in his book, 
pages 183-220. And while I do not entirely agree with him, it is beyond 
question that Sitting Bull sought to gain through the Messiah craze. To 



THE MESSIAH CRAZE 



103 



a certain extent he advocated armed resistance, but the dominating desire 
in his mind, a careful review of events would indicate, was that Sitting 
Bull desired above all things to see the Indians restored to their old-time 
domination. Like the others, he prayed for the return of the buffalo, 
without which "the good old days" would be impossible. He probably 
believed that volcanic action ("wave of mud", as the Oglala called it) 
would sweep across the country, destroy the Whites and leave the red men 
happy possessors of the Plains and countless herds of bison, elk and deer. 
That was the belief of many of the Indians, and so expressed by them 
during the Ghost dance. 

The Ghost dance, or Messiah craze, was seized upon by all these 
Sioux as a means of salvation out of their troubles. We must remember 
that these Indians had lived but a few years on the reservation at Pine 
Ridge. In 1876, only fourteen years before, they killed Custer and wiped 
out several companies of the Seventh Cavalry. They had made some 
progress, but they were still ration Indians, and the cutting down of the 
supply of beef, etc., hundreds of thousands pounds, before the Indians 
had become self-supporting, caused widespread suffering. 

It is not necessary to repeat the troubles of the Sioux here. I have 
referred to some of the treaties, Indian cause for dissatisfaction, in other 
pages of this book. In the spring of 1889, so I was informed at Pine Ridge, 
Congress passed an act authorizing the purchase of a large tract of land 
from these people. Honorable Charles Foster, ex-Governor of Ohio, and 
several other gentlemen were appointed a committee to negotiate with 
the Indians. According to the Indians' version, many councils were held 
and a great deal of discussion ensued. Sometimes the debates were rather 
strenuous and they all related to purchase of lands — to the further cur- 
tailing of the Sioux reservation — the same old story. An intelligent 
educated Indian summed up their cause as follows : — - 

"The lands secured by the treaty were divided into three classes. All 
tracts selected for farming or grazing purposes within a period of three 
years from February 15, 1890, were to be sold at $1.25 per acre. Those 
purchased during the two years following were valued at seventy -five 
cents per acre. The portions remaining unsold after the expiration of 
five years could be bought for fifty cents per acre. The money received from 
the sale of the land was to be placed in the United States Treasury, subject 
to interest, which was to be paid to the Indians at regular intervals. 

"Any Sioux whom his Agent considered qualified for supporting him- 
self was to be allowed to select for his own use a tract of land, the area of 
which was determined by the number of members in his family. Farming 



104 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



implements and utensils, oxen or horses, seed, etc., and fifty dollars in 
cash were also to be given him. Notices to acquaint the Sioux with this 
proposition were posted in conspicuous places in the agency buildings, 
and every inducement was offered the people to take the land in severalty. 
So far, about one hundred at Rosebud, a smaller number at Standing 
Rock, and some two hundred at Pine Ridge have made applications to 
the Agents for allotments. 




MODERN SIOUX CABIN AND SUMMER TENT. PINE RIDGE, 1909 



"Inquiries were made of many of the leading men on the reservation 
as to why more persons did not avail themselves of the Government's 
liberal offer and become self-supporting. The Indians' answers and their 
reasons for not taking up land in severalty convinced all questioners not 
already prejudiced that under the present condition of affairs it would 
be impossible to interest more than a small percentage of the nation in 
agriculture."* 

Some of the Indians' statements may be denied in Washington. The 
Indians have always maintained that many things are told them by Com- 
missioners which are never carried into effect. I am quite aware that 



* Written in 1890, at Pine Ridge 



THE MESSIAH CRAZE 



105 



only the written recommendations are acted upon. That is, the report 
of a Commission may be quite different from the Indians' ideas or under- 
standings of the councils and the debates. Politicians will cultivate the 
good will of Indians just as they cultivate voters. The politician 
frankly admits: "a platform is made to get in on." The failure to keep 
these promises, and the difference between the actual performance and 
the words so freely uttered in the presence of the Indians, caused much 
dissatisfaction and paved the way for the Messiah craze. 

Another serious cause for complaint occurred after the Messiah craze 
started. Doctor Royer sent out the Indian police and brought in all the 
friendly Indians, in order to differentiate them from the "hostiles." That 
is, he compelled all Indians who were not dancing, and those who were 
lukewarm toward the Messiah doctrine, to move to the agency and live 
in tents and canvas tipis under his direct supervision. When I reached 
Pine Ridge, these tents extended in little groups, here and there, for two 
miles. As most of the Indians lived in log cabins, this foolish order worked 
great hardship. Many of them lost stock, their cabins were broken into, 
and they were compelled to seek support from the Government. Royer 
was forced to issue a great quantity of rations. As the younger children, 
for the most part, were accustomed to living in the log houses referred to, 
this change in winter to life in the open was responsible for a heavy increase 
of diphtheria and other diseases. 

The Indians bitterly complained and began to say they thought the 
Government had deliberately set about destroying the Pine Ridge Sioux. 

As a result of the mismanagement, the ignorance, the suffering, and 
the presence of the troops, the progress of the Pine Ridge Sioux was delayed 
many years, and much of the advancement of the previous ten years was 
forever lost. The only redeeming feature at Pine Ridge, in my opinion, 
was the appointment of Major John R. Brennan as Agent. He took charge 
shortly after the military domination ended and after years of labor man- 
aged to inspire confidence in the Oglalas. 

The succeeding pages describe the dance ceremonies as related to 
me at Pine Ridge in November and December, 1890. I have left much 
of the narrative in the present tense, as written then. 

The Indians located in the Dakotas have been in the habit of visiting 
the Utes and Arapahoes every summer for the purpose of trading. They 
also hunted game en route. While the Sioux are unable to converse with 
these tribes, means of communication is possible through the medium of 
the sign-language, which was well understood by all Plains Indians. Most 
of the older Oglala, Miniconjou, and Brule are able to use it at present. 



THE MESSIAH CRAZE 



107 



Keeps-the-Battle (Kicizapi Tawa) told me a few days ago that it was 
during the visit of the Pine Ridge Sioux last July that he first heard of 
the coming of the new Messiah. He related the following story: 

"Scarcely had my people reached the Ute village when we heard of 
a white preacher whom the Utes held in the highest esteem, who told a 
beautiful dream or vision of the coming of a great and good red man. This 
strange person was to set aright the wrongs of my people; he could restore 
to us our game and hunting grounds, was so powerful that every wish or 
word he gave utterance to became fulfilled. 

"His teaching had a strange effect upon the Utes, and, in obedience 
to the commands of this man, they began a Messiah dance." 

Keeps-the-Battle further said that, immediately upon the arrival 
of the hunting-party at Pine Ridge, a small dance was held in imitation 
of the ones they had seen while among the Utes, but that until the medicine 
men began to superintend the ceremonies nothing unusual occurred. The 
dances were held every few days until the middle of August. Then, with 
scarcely any warning, a wild and general desire took possession of a large 
part of the nation to welcome the expected Messiah the moment he set 
foot upon earth. Mr. H. G. Galagher was then Agent, and, fearing that the 
enthusiasm of the Sioux under his charge might terminate in an outbreak, 
he visited White Bird's camp accompanied by fourteen Indian police. 
As he approached the village, twenty warriors sprang out of the brush and, 
drawing their Winchesters, called upon him to halt. They would not 
permit him to advance, and compelled the party to turn about and retrace 
its footsteps to the agency. 

The news of this bold action spread like wildfire through the country, 
and being heralded and exaggerated by the daily press, caused many an 
uneasy and timid settler to prepare to remove to the nearest point upon 
the railroad. 

The news of the failure of the agent to stop the Messiah dance was 
carried by couriers to the Indians at Rosebud and Standing Rock reser- 
vations, and the more susceptible persons became infatuated with the 
new craze. Meetings and dances were arranged at points distant from 
the agency posts, in order that no employee might interfere. Of course, 
both the Sioux and the Whites were much excited. The former were ready 
and willing to throw off forever the odious yoke of oppression; the latter, 
fearful for the safety of their homes and families. 

The white people became frantic from fear, houses were barricaded 
and all Indians viewed with suspicion. A sensational press magnified 
events, and settlers accused many friendly Indians, who had joined the 



108 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



dance for no other purpose than worship, of hostile intentions. This 
accusation, coupled with the arrival of some four or five times as many 
troops as were necessary to subdue the small number of lodgers which 
later fled into the borders of the Bad Lands, had the effect of turning the 
more timid toward the agency, while the braver middle-aged and young 
men fled to the northward. 

But to return to the mission of Agent Galagher last summer. It is 
quite natural to suppose that the Agent was not a little frightened at his 
reception near "White Bird's" camp, and, as subsequent events would 




SIOUX FARMING. WHITE CLAY CREEK, PINE RIDGE, 1909 

seem to indicate, he feared to assert his authority and compel the Sioux 
to discontinue their dance. He hoped that in time the craze would die out 
without interference on his part. But instead of ceasing, the number 
participating increased, and really things began to assume a very threaten- 
ing aspect. Then came the change of Agents and Dr. D. F. Royer, of Alpina, 
South Dakota, succeeded Mr. Galagher. Royer was not the man for so 
trying a post, and as both the Agents were political appointees, trouble was 
certain to follow. And no sooner did Indians begin to dance than Royer 
bombarded Washington with requests for troops. He sent a letter or tele- 
gram every day. 



THE MESSIAH CRAZE 



109 



The dancers were not slow to take advantage of Galagher's or Rover's 
non-interference, and a report gained wide circulation to the effect that their 
Agent was afraid to command the police to arrest the principals in the dance. 
The medicine men and Indians of the same stamp as the late Sitting Bull, 
addressed the young men somewhat after the following manner: 

"Do you not see that the Whites on the reservation are afraid of 
you? Why do you pray to great Wakantanka to send the Saviour on 
earth when the remedy lies in your own hands? Be men, not children. 
You have a perfect right to dance upon your own reservation as much as 
you please, and you should exercise the rights, even if you find it necessary 
to use your guns. Be brave, and the good and great Wakantanka will aid 
your arms. Be cowards, and he will be ashamed of you." 

Now let us consider the Messiah craze as it appeared in its purity. 

In nearly all religious beliefs the candidate for admission to the church 
or body of worshippers is compelled to pass through certain ceremonies. 
In our own day we maintain certain practices which have nothing what- 
ever to do with one's salvation, but which have been handed down both 
by tradition and historical record, and on this account are sacredly pre- 
served. 

There do not appear to have been any special preparations on the 
part of the candidates. The sweat-lodge was in frequent use, and many 
Indians purified themselves. The sweat-bath was common among the 
Sioux in 1889-1890. But during the Messiah craze its use became wide- 
spread, and the dancers thought it prepared them, or purified them, for 
the dance. The pipe is also smoked during the sweat. When the young 
men issue from their bath the perspiration is fairly streaming from every 
pore. If it is not cold weather they plunge into a pool in the creek nearby, 
but if it is chilly they wrap blankets about their bodies. None of the 
Whites and half-breeds who have witnessed these things ever saw a Sioux 
rub himself after issuing from the bath. 

The largest camp of the dancers prior to the departure for the North was 
located upon Wounded Knee creek. Other camps of considerable extent 
existed upon White Clay creek, four miles from the agency headquarters, 
upon Porcupine and Medicine Root streams. No Water's camp became, 
later, the general rendezvous. 

The shamans took the dance under their charge. One of them seemed 
to be "high priest," or at least controlled the affair. Three or four assist- 
ants served, and had power to stop or start the dance. 



CHAPTER X. THE DANCE 



Several sweat-houses are erected in order to prepare the young men 
for the dance. When a good number of young men, say fifty or sixty, 
have taken the sweat-bath, and prepared themselves, the high priest and 
his assistants come forward. The high priest wears eagle-feathers in his 
hair, and a shirt reaching nearly to his knees. The assistants are dressed 
in similar manner, but wear no ornaments other than the eagle-feathers. 
The dancers wear no ornaments whatsoever, and enter the circle without 
their blankets. 

That Indians should lay aside all ornaments and finery and dance 
without the trappings which they so dearly love proves conclusively that 
some powerful religious influence is at work. In their other dances, (the 
Omaha, the Old Woman, the Sun) feathers and bangles; weapons, herbs 
or painted and plaited grasses; porcupine quills, horses' tails and bits of 
fur-skins; necklaces, bells, silver discs, etc., are worn in great profusion. 

At Pine Ridge few candidates for "conversion" fasted. After they 
have come forth from the sweat -house they are ready to enter the sacred 
circle. The high priest runs quickly from the village to the open space 
of ground, five or six hundred yards distant, and, stationing himself near 
the sacred tree, begins his chant as follows: 

"Hear, hear, all you persons! 

"Come, hurry up and dance, and when you have finished running in 
the circle, tell these people what you have seen in the spirit land. 

"I myself have been in the spirit land and have seen many strange 
and beautiful things, all of which my eyes tell me are good and true." 

As the speaker proceeds, the men and women crowd to the dance- 
ground. They form two or three circles, according to the number of persons 
who wish to participate, and, grasping hands with fingers interlocked 
("Indian grip"), the circles begin to move around toward the left.* 

In the center, at No Water's camp, stands the sacred tree. It is a nearly 
straight sapling thirty or forty feet high, trimmed of branches to a height 
of several feet. To the topmost twigs is attached a small white flag or 
canvas strip, supposed to be an emblem of purity, together with some 
colored strips. The base of the tree is wrapped with rushes and flags to 
a thickness of some feet. Between the reeds the dancers from time to time 
thrust little gifts or peace-offerings. These offerings are supposed to allay 
the anger of the Great Spirit, and are given in perfectly good faith by the 
poor natives. They consist of small pieces of calico, bags of tobacco, or 



* This Chapter was written at Pine Ridge, December, 1890. 



112 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



pipes. During the height of excitement, those worshippers most deeply 
affected cut small particles of flesh from their arms, and thrust these, also, 
between the rushes of the holy tree. 

Henry Hunter (the Weasel, "Itonkasan") informs me that after the 
dance had been running some days, the rushes covering the base of the 
tree were literally besmeared with human blood! 

As the circle moves toward the left, the priest and his assistants cry 
out loudly for the dancers to stop a moment. As they pause he raises 
his hands toward the west, and upon all the people acting similarly, begins 
the following remarkable prayer: 

"Great Spirit, look at us now. Grandfather and Grandmother have 
come. All these good people are going to see Wakantanka, but they will 
be brought safely back to earth. Everything that is good you will see 
there, and you can have these things by going there. All things that you 
hear there will be holy and true, and when you return you can tell your 
friends how spiritual it is." 

As he prays, the dancers cry aloud with all the fervor of religious 
fanatics. They moan and sob, many of them exclaiming: " Great Father, 
I want you to have pity upon me." 

One can scarcely imagine the terrible earnestness of these people. 
George E. Bartlett, and Mr. Sweeney, one of the agency school-teachers, 
the chief herder, Mr. John Darr, and others, have informed me that during 
their extended experience at the agency, of many years' duration, they 
have witnessed many of these dances. They describe the scene of the dance, 
especially at night, as most weird and ghostlike. The fires are very large, 
and shed a bright reflection all around ; the breasts of the worshippers heave 
with emotion; they groan and cry as if they were suffering great agony, 
and the priest begs them to ask great Wakantanka to forgive their sins. 

After prayer and weeping, and offerings have been made to the sacred 
pole, the dance is started again. The dancers go rather slowly at first, 
and as the priests in the center begin to shout and leap about, the dancers 
partake of the enthusiasm. Instead of moving with a regular step, each 
person jumps backward and forward, up and down, as hard as he or she 
can without relinquishing their hold upon their neighbor's hand. One 
by one the dancers fall out of the ranks, some staggering like drunken men, 
others wildly rushing here and there almost bereft of reason. Many fall 
upon the earth to writhe about as if possessed of demons, while blinded 
women throw their clothes over their heads and run through brush or 
against trees. The priests are kept busy waving eagle-feathers in the faces 
of the most violent worshippers. The feather is considered sacred, and 



THE DANCE 



113 



its use, together with the mesmeric glance and motion of the priest, soon 
causes the victim to fall into a trance or deep sleep. Whether this sleep 
is real or feigned the writer does not pretend to say, but sufficiently deep 
is it that Whites visiting the dance have been unable to rouse the sleepers 
by jest or blow. 

Unquestionably the priests exercise an influence over the more sus- 
ceptible of the dancers akin to hypnotism. One of the young men, who 
danced in the ghost circle twenty times, told me that the priest "Looked 
very hard at us. Some of the young men and women could not withstand 
his snake-like gaze, and did whatever he told them." 

Regarding what is seen by the converts when in the spirit land, I have 
secured interviews with three prominent Oglalas touching upon this matter. 

Little Wound said: 

"When I fell in the trance a great and grand eagle came and carried 
me over a great hill, where there was a village where the tipis were all of 
buffalo hides, and we made use of the bow and arrow, there being nothing 
of white man's manufacture in the beautiful land. Nor were any Whites 
permitted to live there. The broad and fertile lands stretched in every 
direction, and were most pleasing to my eyes. 

"I was taken into the presence of the great Messiah, and he spoke 
to me these words: 

" 'My child, I am glad to see you. Do you want to see your children 
and relations who are dead?' 

"I replied: ' Yes, I would like to see my relations who have been dead 
a long time. The God then called my friends to come up to where I was. 
They appeared, riding the finest horses I ever saw, dressed in superb and 
most brilliant garments, and seeming very happy. As they approached, 
I recognized the playmates of my childhood, and I ran forward to embrace 
them while the tears of joy ran down my cheeks. 

"We all went together to another village, where there were very large 
lodges of buffalo hide, and there held a long talk with the great Wakantanka. 
Then he had some squaws prepare us a meal of many herbs, meat, and 
wild fruits and 'wasna' (pounded beef and choke-cherries). After we had 
eaten, the Great Spirit prayed for our people upon the earth, and then we 
all took a smoke out of a fine pipe ornamented with the most beautiful 
feathers and porcupine quills. Then we left the city and looked into a 
great valley where there were thousands of buffalo, deer and elk feeding. 

"After seeing the valley, we returned to the city, the Great Spirit 
speaking meanwhile. He told me that the earth was now bad and worn 
out; that we needed a new dwelling-place where the rascally Whites could 



114 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



not disturb us. He further instructed me to return to my people, the Sioux, 
and say to them that if they would be constant in the dance and pay no 
attention to the Whites he would shortly come to their aid. If the high 
priests would make for the dancers medicine-shirts and pray over them 
no harm could come to the wearer; that the bullets of any Whites that 
desired to stop the Messiah dance would fall to the ground without doing 
anyone harm, and the person firing such shots would drop dead. He said 
that he had prepared a hole in the ground filled with hot water and fire for 
the reception of all white men and non-believers. With these parting 
words I was commanded to return to earth." 




GHOST DANCE AT NO WATER'S CAMP, 1890. Sketch by Huste 

Just after the dancers have been crying and moaning about their 
sins the priests strike up the first song, in which all join, singing with 
deafening loudness. Some man or woman may be at this moment at the 
tree, with his or her arms thrown about the rushes, sobbing as if their heart 
would break; or another may be walking and crying, wringing his hands, 
or going through some motion to indicate the deepest sorrow for his trans- 
gressions. So the singer cries aloud to his mother to be present and aid 
him. The appeal to the father refers, of course, to the Messiah, and its 
use in this connection is supposed to give emphasis to the demand for 
the mother's presence and hasten her coming. 



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THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The second song requires a longer explanation. It expresses in brief 
the goodness of the father. Some one of the dancers has come to life from 
the trance, and has just related his or her experience in the other world. 
The Messiah, or Father, has been very near to the subject, and the high 
priest, enlarging upon the importance of this fact, runs about the interior 
of the circle handing several pipes around, exclaiming that these pipes 
were received direct from the Great Spirit, and that all who smoke them 
will live. The people are worked up to such a pitch of religious frenzy 
that their minds are now willing to receive any utterance as truth undis- 
putable, so they pass around the pipes, singing the song meanwhile. The 
repetition of the words, "This the Father says," indicates that the God 
inspires all that is done. 

One of the visions seen by a young woman when under the influence 
of the trance, varied somewhat from the others. She told the following 
story : 

"I was carried into the beautiful land as others have been, and there 
I saw a small but well-made lodge constructed entirely of rushes and reeds. 
These were woven closely together and resembled the fine basket-work 
that many of our squaws make during the winter. The tipi was pro- 
vided with a stone wall, which was composed of small, flat stones laid up 
against the walls to the height of three or four feet. In this lodge the great 
Wakantanka dwelt and would issue forth at noon. Promptly at the time 
when the sun was above me the lodge trembled violently and then began 
its descent toward the earth. It landed near the dance-ground, and there 
stepped forth a man clothed in a blanket of rabbit-hides. This was the 
Messiah, and he had come to save us." 

The vision of Little Horse is still more remarkable. He said: 

"Two holy eagles transported me to the Happy Hunting Grounds. 
They showed me the Great Messiah there, and as I looked upon his fair 
countenance I wept, for there were nail-prints in his hands and feet where 
the cruel Whites had once fastened him to a large cross. There was a small 
wound in his side also, but as he kept himself covered with a beautiful 
mantle of feathers this wound could only be seen when he shifted his 
blanket. He insisted that we continue the dance, and promised me that 
no Whites should enter his city nor partake of the good things he had 
prepared for the Indians. The earth, he said, was now worn out and it 
should be repeopled. 

"He had a long beard and longhair, and was the most handsome man 
I ever looked upon." 



THE DANCE 



117 



Before concluding my description of the dance as it appeared during 
the first few months of its existence at Pine Ridge, I would like to add 
that the dances were held throughout the day usually, but that once in 
a while, when a village was especially devout, they were continued all 
night. In that event food was prepared in large quantities, so that the 
worshippers could partake of refreshments when they desired. 

The high priest frequently announces in a loud tone the visions related 
to him by the converts. His discourse is often interrupted by loud grunts 
of approval on the part of the assembled natives. The personal experience 
of the Weasel may be of interest: 

"While dancing I saw no visions, but the other Indians told me to 
not think of anything in particular, but keep my eyes fastened upon the 
priests, and soon I would see all that they saw. 

"The first large dance held was on Wounded Knee Creek under the 
guidance of Big Road. I attended this one, but did not observe Two 
Strike in the audience. We had been dancing irregularly for several weeks 
when a runner came into camp greatly excited, one night, and said that 
the soldiers had arrived at Pine Ridge and were sent by the Great Father 
at Washington. The priests called upon the young men at this juncture 
not to become angry but to continue the dance, but have horses ready so 
that all could flee were the military to charge the village. So we mounted 
our ponies and rode around the hills all night singing our two songs." 

I asked the Weasel: "Did you ever see the medicine-shirt worn?" 

"Yes, they wore blessed shirts that night. The priests had said prayers 
over these garments, and they were bullet-proof. One girl tried to gash 
herself with a butcher-knife on the arm, but the blade was bent and the 
edge turned, so powerful was the medicine in the shirt." 



CHAPTER XI. LOUIS SHAXGRAUX AXD THE TROOPS 



About December 8th Louis Sliangraux and some prominent Indians 
were sent out by the military to persuade the dancers to come in. December 
loth we heard singing, and running out of our quarters, beheld thirty 
horsemen advancing upon the agency. Following them were large numbers 
of the "hostiles". Every man was superbly mounted and well armed. 
Six-shooters were hung at their sides, while the gun-cases, neatly beaded 
and ornamented, were strapped and hung along the saddles. The 
warriors drew up in front of the general's (Brooke) headquarters, and as 
the last notes of the song died away leaped from the animals' backs. As 
they crowded into the commanding officer's presence, we who stood near 
had the honor of shaking hands with these men. The general himself wel- 
comed them with words of commendation, for he thoroughly appreciated 
the efforts of the "friendlies" in the desire to prevent bloodshed. 

That night, accompanied by my interpreter Bartlett, I visited the 
lodge of Scout Shangraux, and secured the following narrative regarding 
the expedition and the intentions of the hostiles. 

"One week ago (the 8th) the general called me (Shangraux) into his 
office, and told me he was very desirous of bringing in the hostiles without 
bloodshed. He said that the mission of Father Jutz had resulted in great 
good, that the Government scouts sent out had failed to reach the camp- 
site of Short Bull and Kicking Bear, and that all information regarding the 
strength of the hostiles was entirely unreliable." 

Louis was given the power to select his party, and accordingly chose 
some good, true men whom he knew could be depended upon in case of 
trouble. Xo white man went with him, for it was believed the hostiles 
would kill anyone not an Indian who should venture near the camp. From 
subsequent events this was found to be true. 

The camp is located on a plateau, 130 feet above the valley. But 
one approach is observed — a narrow path. Louis claimed the Indians 
had piled stones, or made breastworks. They possessed much ammunition 
and food; two springs afforded plenty of water, and their situation appears 
to have been secure. Some little way off , in the valley, was a large village. 
"When we entered there were about 262 lodges present. One hundred and 
seventeen of these remained and 145 returned with us to the agency. The 
squaws and men came forward to greet us, and all seemed very friendly. 



LOUIS SHANGRAUX; THE TROOPS 



119 



They supposed at first that we had come to join them, but when they 
learned our true mission they seemed very suspicious, and refused for some 
time to have anything to do with us. Just before we began the council, 
which lasted the greater part of four days, the high-priest and his helpers 
came forward and announced that there would be a Ghost-dance. They 
formed a circle about the sacred tree and began their chant. 

"Of all the wild dancing I saw on Wounded Knee, this beat the record. 
People went into trances by the dozen, and the priests were kept busy 
relating the experiences of the fainters. Several remained in trances as 
long as twelve hours, and gave evidences of utter exhaustion when the 
directors aroused them. 

"Short Bull said: 'I see the Messiah coming from the West. He is 
riding in a plain-wagon drawn by two mules and looks very much like a 
black man. If he is our Messiah we are greatly fooled. Now I see him 
again, and he is an Indian. Ah! wait; I see him the third time, and he is 
a white man. He tells me to send my children to school, to make large 
farms, and not to fight any more. Do not fight, my children, unless the 
soldiers first fire upon you.' 

"People were so excited they trembled all over, their eyes rolled, and 
the muscles of their faces twitched. They were the most crazy Indians 
I ever beheld." 

The dancing continued for nearly thirty hours; then there was an 
intermission of several hours, during which a council was held in order to 
give audience to the friendlies. Short Bull and Two Strike (his real name 
is Nompagahpa, and a literal translation is, "Knocks down Two"), aided 
by Crow Dog, championed the cause of the hostiles, while No Neck and 
Louis Shangraux spoke on behalf of the friendlies. Louis does not remember 
what he said in the first council, but the substance of his remarks could 
be put into one sentence: 

"The Agent will forgive you if you will return now, give you more 
rations, but not permit you to dance." 

Short Bull's (Tatankaptecelan) reply was so forcible as to remain in 
Louis's memory in the exact words of the speaker, and ran as follows: 

"I have risen today to tell you something of importance. You have 
heard the words of the brothers from the agency camps, and if you have 
done as myself, you have weighed them carefully. If the Great Father 
would permit us to continue the dance, would give more rations, and quit 
taking away portions of the reservation, I would be in favor of returning. 
But even if you (turning to Louis) say that he will, how can we know 
whether you are telling the truth? We have been lied to so many times 



1-20 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



that we will not believe any words that your Agent sends to us. If we 
return he will take away our guns and ponies, put some of us in jail for 
stealing cattle and plundering houses. We prefer to stay here and die. 
if necessary, to loss of liberty. We are free now and have plenty of beef,, 
can dance all the time in obedience to the command of the Great Wakan- 
tanka. We tell you to return to your Agent and say to him that the 
Dakotas in the Bad Lands are not going to come in." 
No Xeck rejoined: 

"Think, my people, how foolish is this action! Do come in. and all 
will be well: remain out here and you will be killed.'*' 
Short Bull added : 

"It is better to die here as brave men., and in obedience to the com- 
mands of the Good Spirit., than to live like cowards at the agency on scanty 
rations., disarmed., without horses or guns. Xo. we will not return. If we 
dance, our Good Spirit will protect us. and if all dancers are sincere, the 
bullets of the soldiers will fall harmlessly to the ground without power 
to hurt. There is no army so powerful that it can contend with Wakan- 
tanka: therefore we are not afraid to remain here." 

The gathering broke up., and nearly every one continued in the Ghost - 
dauce. For two days the hostiles would not have further words with 
the friendly scouts. Friday and Saturday, the 12th and 13th ; the last 
council was held. The scenes accompanying the closing of this gathering.. 
Saturday afternoon, were very thrilling., and for a period of two hours it 
seemed as if a general battle would ensue between those who desired to 
return to the agency and the hostiles. 

About noon. Saturday. Two Strike — who had been one of the leaders 
in the dance — arose and announced his intention to return to the agency 
with the scouts, accompanied by about 145 lodges. Crow Dog iKangi- 
sunka. the Indian who killed Spotted Tail about ten years ago) also 
announced his intention of returning. At this declaration from two 
such prominent men. Short Bull sprang to his feet and cried out. 
angrily : 

"At such a time as this we should all stick together like brothers. 
Do not leave: remain with us. These men from the agency are not telling 
us the truth; they will conduct you back to the agency and they will place 
you in jail there. Louis is at the bottom of this affair." 

And. running to the place where the guns were stacked. Short Bull 
grasped his gun and., followed by many of his young men., surrounded 
Shangraux. Louis's situation was desperate. He knew these furious men 
might kill him at the slightest resistance, so he laughed as good-naturedly 



LOUIS SHANGRAUX; THE TROOPS 



121 



as possible under the circumstances and told them to put up their guns, 
as he was their friend instead of their enemy. 

"No, do not let the friendlies return," cried the young men; "kill 
them, or compel them to remain with us. They will tell the Agent all 
they have seen and the soldiers will know how to enter our camp." 

With clubbed guns many of the desperate youths rushed upon the 
friendlies and scouts, others cocked their Winchesters, and for a few mo- 
ments it looked as if poor Louis and No Neck, Two Strike and Crow Dog, 
would lose their lives. Crow Dog sat upon the ground and drew his blanket 
over his head. 

The wiser counsel prevailed, however, and after a great hubbub, in 
which several young men were knocked down, order was restored. One 
of the horses and several of the dogs of the friendlies were shot during 
the melee. When the 145 lodges started from the camp another difficulty 
arose. It was during this trouble that Crow Dog made his famous, though 
brief speech : 

"I am going back to White Clay (the location of the agency); you 
can kill me if you want to, now, and prevent my starting. The Agent's 
words are true, and it is better to return than to stay here. I am not 
afraid to die." 

So, they started for home. 

Imagine the surprise of the friendlies when, upon looking back from 
the top of a ridge two miles distant, they saw the 117 lodges of hostiles 
coming after them. They halted to wait for Short Bull to catch up, and 
then the entire outfit moved toward the agency, all happy in the prospect 
of peace and forgiveness. 

But the hopes of the friendlies were short-lived, for Short Bull became 
scared after having proceeded four miles farther, and together with his 
band, left the rear of the column and returned to the Bad Lands. Sunday 
and Monday morning the Indians moved along the trail, reaching Bed 
Cloud's camp, in sight of the agency headquarters just before noon, Mon- 
day. Louis and the scouts had ridden ahead and reached the general's 
presence as narrated in the forepart of this chapter. 

These friendlies, added to the large number already in camp near 
the agency buildings, led all of us to hope the trouble was over. But during 
all the Pine Ridge excitement, up on the Missouri river, at Standing Rock, 
Sitting Bull was in evidence, with some 150 followers. 

In the midst of the excitement, when Superintendent McLaughlin 
went to see Sitting Bull at his camp on Grand River, and argued with 
him, contending that the Messiah doctrine was false, Sitting Bull sug- 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



gested that both McLaughlin and himself together with attendants should 
visit the Messiah in the far West. The truth or falsity of his doctrine 
would then be apparent. If McLaughlin had agreed to this sensible propo- 
sition, much evil might have been avoided, but the Major refused to go, 
and thereby missed an opportunity of doing the Indians a service and 
preventing the subsequent massacre. 

In November, the President ordered the Secretary of War to prepare 
for action, and Major John R. Brooke (now General) went to Pine Ridge. 
These troops (of which we have seen there were a large number) were 
scattered about through the Indian country. 

The troops until the end of December, were either in camp near 
Pine Ridge, or were scouting about in the country pursuing scattered 
bands of Indians. In the meantime, Sitting Bull was preparing to leave 
his reservation (Standing Rock) and flee into the Bad Lands to join the 
Ghost dancers who had fled there from Pine Ridge. Both Mooney and 
Major McLaughlin give accounts of what occurred at Sitting Bull's. As 
McLaughlin's is the lengthier of the two, I shall reproduce that portion of 
it relating immediately to the death of Sitting Bull. 




THE "INDIAN GATE," PIXE RIDGE, 1890 
Down a ravine, to the right, the interpreter and myself used to creep at night. Thus we reached the 

"hostiles 5 camp" and obtained news 



CHAPTER XII: THE DEATH OF SITTING BULL, AND A 
TRAGEDY AT WOUNDED KNEE 

It seems that the Indian police brought Major McLaughlin information 
as to the intentions of the famous medicine man. The Major became 
convinced that Sitting Bull must be arrested and confined, and he there- 
fore sent a squad of police under Lieutenant Bull Head. Among the thirty- 
nine Indian policemen who made the arrest were four relatives. Aside 
from the officer in charge, Bull Head, Red Tomahawk and Shave Head 
seem to have been the most prominent. 

Sitting Bull's settlement consisted of a number of houses stretched 
on the banks of the Grand River for a distance of four or five miles. The 
group surrounding Sitting Bull's cabin was comprised of half a dozen log- 
cabins and a corral. 

The police entered upon their mission in the night and arrived at day- 
light. "Many of the houses were deserted, the Indians having been engaged 
in dancing the greater part of the previous night. The entrance of the 
policemen awakened the camp, but they saw no one, as Bull Head wheeled 
his men between the Sitting Bull houses and ordered them to dismount. 
Ten policemen, headed by Bull Head and Shave Head, entered one of the 
houses, eight policemen the other. In the house entered by Bull Head's 
party they found the old medicine man, his two wives, and Crow Foot his 
son, a youth of seventeen years. 

"The women were very much frightened and began to cry. Sitting 
Bull sat up and asked what was the matter. 

" 'You are under arrest and must go to the agency,' said Bull Head. 

" 'Very well,' said Sitting Bull, 'I will go with you.' And he told one 
of his wives to go to the other house and bring him his best clothes. He 
showed no concern at his arrest, but evidently wanted to make a good 
impression and dressed himself with some care. He had also asked that his 
best horse, a gray one, be saddled, and an Indian policeman had the animal 
at the door by the time Sitting Bull was dressed and ready to leave. 

"There had been no trouble in the house, and the police, when they 
walked out, were surprised at the extent of the demonstration. They 
came out of the building in a little knot, Bull Head on one side of Sitting 
Bull, Shave Head on the other, and Red Tomahawk directly behind. 
They had been twenty minutes or more in Sitting Bull's house, and it was 
in the gray of the morning when they came out. They stepped out into a 
mass of greatly excited Ghost dancers, nearly all armed and crowding about 



124 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



the main body of the police, who had held the way clear at the door. As 
Sitting Bull stepped out with his captors he walked directly toward the 
horse, with the evident intention of mounting and accompanying the 
police. He was some distance from the door when his son, Crow Foot, 
seeing that the old man intended to make no resistance, began to revile 
him: — 

" 'You call yourself a brave man and you have declared that you 
would never surrender to a blue-coat, and now you give yourself up to 
Indians in blue uniforms,' the young man shouted. 

"The taunt hit Sitting Bull hard. He looked into the mass of dark, 
excited faces, and commenced to talk volubly and shrilly, and there was 
a menacing movement in the crowd. 

"The last moment of Sitting Bull's life showed him in a better light, 
so far as physical courage goes, than all the rest of it. He looked about 
him and saw his faithful adherents — about 160 crazed Ghost dancers — 
who would have gone through fire at his bidding; to submit to arrest 
meant the end of his power and his probable imprisonment; he had sure 
news from Pine Ridge that he, only, was needed to head the hostiles there 
in a war of extermination against the white settlers. He made up his mind 
to take his chance, and screamed out an order to his people to attack 
the police. 

"Instantly Catch-the-Bear and Strikes-the-Kettle, who were in the 
front rank of the crowd, fired at point-blank range, Catch-the-Bear mortally 
wounding First Lieutenant Bull Head, and Strikes-the-Kettle shooting 
First Sergeant Shave Head in the abdomen. Lieutenant Bull Head was a 
few yards to the left and front of Sitting Bull when hit, and immediately 
wheeling, he shot Sitting Bull through the body, and at the same instant 
Second Sergeant Red Tomahawk, who with revolver in hand was rear- 
guard, shot him in the right cheek, killing him instantly; the lieutenant, 
the first sergeant, and Sitting Bull falling together. 

"Sitting Bull's medicine had not saved him, and the shot that killed 
him put a stop forever to the domination of the ancient regime among the 
Sioux of the Standing Rock reservation. 

"The tale of the bloody fight that ensued has been told, and the world 
knows how those thirty-nine Indian policemen, with four of their relatives 
who volunteered to accompany them, — a total of forty-three in all — 
fought off 160 Ghost dancers, eight of whom were killed and five wounded; 
how Second Sergeant Red Tomahawk, after the two higher ranking police 
officers had been mortally wounded, took command and drove the Indians 
to the timber; how Hawk Man No. 1 ran through a hail of bullets to get 



DEATH OF SITTING BULL 



125 



the news to the cavalry detachment, and how six faithful friends of the 
Whites, policemen of the Standing Rock reservation, laid down their lives 
in doing their duty that morning. Two days later, on December 17, 1890, 
we buried Shave Head and four other Indian policemen with military honors 
in the cemetery at Standing Rock, and, while Captain Miner's entire com- 
pany of the Twenty-Second U. S. Infantry fired three volleys over the 
graves of these red heroes, and a great concourse of the Sioux of the reserva- 
tion stood in the chill bright sunlight of a fair winter's day, mourning aloud 
for their dead, I quietly left the enclosure and joined a little burial-party 
in the military cemetery at Fort Yates, situated about five hundred yards 
south of the agency cemetery. Four military prisoners dug the grave, and 
in the presence of A. R. Chapin, Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A., H. M. Deeble, 
Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A., Lieutenant P. G. Wood, U. S. A., Post 
Quartermaster, now Brigadier General, retired, and myself, the body of 
Sitting Bull, wrapped in canvas and placed in a coffin, was lowered into 
the grave."* 

Naturally the death of Sitting Bull caused great commotion and many 
Indians joined the Ghost dancers. In spite of promises to the contrary, 
they imagined that all those who had incurred the ill will of the authorities 
were to be killed. 

About this time Major Brooke sent out American Horse with Two 
Strike and others to persuade the rest of the Ghost dancers to come in. 
There were a number of skirmishes in which a few persons were killed on 
each side. 

On December 28th, Major Whitside in charge of the Seventh Cavalry 
came up with Big Foot's band. This same Indian, Big Foot, and his people 
were traveling toward Pine Ridge agency. According to Mooney's account, 
Whitside demanded unconditional surrender which was at once given. 
The Indians and the soldiers went into camp twenty miles northeast of 
Pine Ridge agency. All of this was communicated to Major Brooke, who 
sent Colonel Forsythe with four companies of the Seventh Cavalry to join 
Whitside. This gave Whitside a total of 470 men as against 106 warriors 
and a number of women and children, frequently estimated from 200 to 
250. The other Ghost dancers under Kicking Bear and Short Bull had 
been persuaded by American Horse and Little Wound to come in to the 
agency and were encamped at the Catholic mission, five miles out. Decem- 
ber 29th (the next day) the officers ordered the Indians to be disarmed. 
In the center of the camp of the Indians a white flag had been erected. 
Early in the morning a battery of four Hotchkiss guns had been posted, 



* My Friend the Indian, pages, 219-222. 



DEATH OF SITTING BULL 



127 



and these were trained on the Indian camp. The cavalry was placed in 
squads at various angles, almost entirely surrounding the Indians, or at least 
on the flank. Chief Big Foot was ill with pneumonia, and the troops had 
provided him with a tent warmed by a camp stove. About eight o'clock 
in the morning the men were ordered to give up their guns. Following 
Mooney's account further, twenty of them came out with only two guns. 
The Indians seemed unwilling to give them up, and some of the soldiers 
were ordered to go into the tents and secure them. Mooney says that this 
search consumed time and created excitement. My information is to the 
effect that the soldiers threw things about in the tents and took guns away 
from those who had them; many children were badly frightened and 
began to cry, and the Indians were now told by the shaman, Yellow Bird, 
that they were to be disarmed and then killed. I was told that the medicine 
man threw dust high in the air and it broke like a little cloud and then 
the massacre began. Mooney presents the same idea, in a little different 
form. 

While this searching had continued, a large part of the soldiers had been 
ordered up to within ten yards of the Indians, which further added to their 
terror and convinced them that Yellow Bird spoke the truth, that they 
were all to be shot down. 

One or two Indians drew revolvers or rifles and fired upon the soldiers, 
who returned the fire, killing almost half the warriors at the first discharge 
of their guns Many sticks were afterwards set up at this place by the 
Indians. The survivors sprang to their feet, seized knives, clubs or the 
few remaining guns, and fought desperately. 

While this was going on, other troops operated the Hotchkiss guns 
and sent a storm of shells and bullets among the women and children 
standing or running about the tipis. Mooney says 44 the guns poured in 
two-pound explosive shells at the rate of fifty per minute, mowing down 
everything alive. 

"The terrible effect may be judged from the fact that one woman sur- 
vivor, Blue Whirlwind, with whom the author conversed, received fourteen 
wounds, while each of her two little boys were also wounded by her side. 
In a few minutes 200 Indian men, women and children, with sixty soldiers, 
were lying dead and wounded on the ground, the tipis had been torn down 
by the shells and some of them were burning above the helpless wounded, 
and the surviving handful of Indians were flying in wild panic to the shelter 
of the ravine, pursued by hundreds of maddened soldiers and followed up 
by a raking fire from the Hotchkiss guns, which had been moved into 
position to sweep the ravine. 



128 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



4 'There can be no question that the pursuit was simply a massacre, 
where fleeing women, with infants in their arms, were shot down after 
resistance had ceased and when almost every warrior was stretched dead 
or dying on the ground. On this point such a careful writer as Herbert 
Welsh says : ' From the fact that so many women and children were killed, 
and that their bodies were found far from the scene of action, and as though 
they were shot down while flying, it would look as though blind rage had 
been at work, in striking contrast to the moderation of the Indian police 
at the Sitting Bull fight when they were assailed by women.' The testi- 
mony of American Horse and other friendlies is strong in the same direc- 
tion. Commissioner Morgan in his official report says that 'Most of the 
men, including Big Foot, were killed around his tent, where he lay sick. 
The bodies of the women and children were scattered along a distance of 
two miles from the scene of the encounter'." 

I agree with Mooney, that a man should not criticize the soldiers of 
his own country. As for the shooting of armed warriors, we will all give 
assent. As to the murder of women and children, whose only thought was 
to escape with their lives, one may not trust himself to write in moderation. 
The Indians told me that many of the Seventh Cavalry troops cried out, 
"Remember Custer," as they pursued little boys and girls and destroyed 
them. We might as well draw the veil of charity over the concluding 
scene — the pursuit and the butchery. 

There was one heroic character, Father Kraft, of the Catholic mission, 
Pine Ridge. He spoke Sioux fluently and endeavored to stop the fight. 
He was stabbed through the lungs, yet with bullets flying about him, he 
administered the last rites of the church to the dying until he fell uncon- 
scious. Mooney pays him a deserved tribute. The Indians were so excited 
that they did not recognize him, claiming that he had on a soldier's over- 
coat because of the cold. Mooney affirms this is not correct, but that he 
wore his priestly robes. 

The immediate result of the massacre of Wounded Knee was the 
stampeding of all the Indians into the hills. They believed that they were 
to be murdered. 

General Miles adopted harsh measures against the Indians and they 
soon surrendered all their guns and came in to the agency. 

Doctor McGillicuddy, the former Agent at Pine Ridge, who was 
entirely familiar with the events, stated to Mooney on January 15, 1891, 
"Up to date there has been neither a Sioux outbreak nor war. No citizen 
in Nebraska or Dakota has been killed, molested, or can show the scratch 
of a pin, and no property has been destroyed off the reservation. Only 



DEATH OF SITTING BULL 



129 



a single non-combatant was killed by the Indians, and that was close to 
the agency. The entire time occupied by the campaign, from the killing 
of Sitting Bull to the surrender at Pine Ridge, was only thirty-two days. 
The late hostiles were returned to their homes as speedily as possible." 

The Indians quit, but the white people did not. On January 11th, 
some white people led by three brothers named Culbertson,* pursued an 
aged Oglala, who was a very friendly Indian, for many miles. His name 
was Few Tails, and he was accompanied by his wife, another Indian named 
One Feather, his wife and two children. They had been hunting in the 
Black Hills and had a pass from the agency. They were returning in two 
wagons loaded with meat. The Culbertson brothers and these other white 
men fired on Few Tails, killing that Indian and both ponies attached to 
that wagon. His wife jumped out and received two bullets, bringing her 
down. Mooney says that the murderers then attacked the other wagon 
shooting the wife of One Feather, but as she was not badly hurt, she drove 
away as rapidly as possible and the Indian leaped upon one of the spare 
ponies and held off the white men for eight or ten miles. They again came 
up, and he turned and fought them off while his wife drove ahead with the 
wagon. 

The senseless panic had seized upon all settlers in the country because 
of the Ghost dance and the Wounded Knee fight. This is illustrated by 
Mooney's concluding description of the first part of the fight. 

"As they drove they passed near a house, from which several other 
shots were fired at the flying mother, when her husband again rode up and 
kept off the whole party until the wagon could get ahead. Finally, as 
the ponies were tired out, this heroic man abandoned the wagon and put 
the two children on one of the spare ponies and his wounded wife and him- 
self upon another and continued to retreat until the Whites gave up the 
pursuit. He finally reached the agency with the wife and children." 

To give readers an adequate conception of what has too frequently 
occurred in the West, I desire to state that while One Feather and his family 
escaped, wounded, the wife of the other Indian, Few Tails, was shot twice, 
and lay helpless on the ground all night. In the morning she found one of the 
ponies alive, and mounted it and reached a settler's house fifteen miles away. 

"Instead of meeting help and sympathy, however, she was driven off 
by the two men there with loaded rifles, and leaving her horse in her fright, 
she hurried away as well as she could with a bullet in her leg and another 
in her breast, passing by the trail of One Feather's wagon with the tracks 
of his pursuers fresh behind it, until she came near a trader's store about 



* One had served time in the penitentiary. 



130 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



twenty miles farther south. Afraid to go near it on account of her last ex- 
perience, the poor woman circled around it, and continued, wounded, 
cold, and starving as she was, to travel by night and hide by day until she 
reached the Bad Lands. The rest may be told in her own words: 

" 'After that I traveled every night, resting daytime, until I got here 
at the beef corral. Then I was very tired, and was near the military camp, 
and early in the morning a soldier came out and he shouted something 
back, and in a few minutes fifty men were there, and they got a blanket 
and took me to a tent. I had no blanket and my feet were swelled, and I 
was about ready to die. After I got to the tent a doctor came in — a soldier 
doctor, because he had straps on his shoulders — and washed me and treated 
me well." 

"A few of the soldiers camped near the scene of the attack had joined 
in the pursuit at the beginning, on the representations of some of the 
murderers, but abandoned it as soon as they found their mistake. Ac- 
cording to all the testimony, the killing was a wanton, unprovoked, and 
deliberate murder, yet the criminals were acquitted in the local courts. 
The apathy displayed by the authorities of Meade county, South Dakota, 
in which the murder was committed, called forth some vigorous protests. 
Colonel Shafter, in his statement of the case, concludes, referring to the 
recent killing of Lieutenant Casey: 'So long as Indians are being arrested 
and held for killing armed men under conditions of war, it seems to me 
that the white murderers of a part of a band of peaceful Indians should 
not be permitted to escape^ punishment.' The Indians took the same view 
of the case, and when General Miles demanded of Young-man-afraid-of- 
his-horses the surrender of the slayers of Casey and the herder Miller, the 
old chief indignantly replied: 'No; I will not surrender them, but if you 
will bring the white men who killed Few Tails, I will bring the Indians 
who killed the white soldier and the herder; and right out here in front of 
your tipi I will have my young men shoot the Indians and you have 
your soMiers shoot the white men, and we will be done with the whole 
business." 

"In regard to the heroic conduct of One Feather, the officer then in 
charge of the agency says: 'The determination and genuine courage, as 
well as the generalship he manifested in keeping at a distance the six men 
who were pursuing him, and the devotion he showed toward his family, 
risking his life against great odds, designate him as entitled to a place on 
the list of heroes'." 

I present as an illustration in this book, the little monument erected 
on the Wounded Knee battlefield by the Sioux themselves some years 



"This monument is erected by surviving relatives and other Oglala and 
Cheyenne River Sioux Indians in memory of the Chief Big Foot Massacre, 
Dec. 29, 1890. 

"Col. Forsythe in command of U. S. Troops. 

"Big Foot was a great Chief of the Sioux Indians. He often said 'I will 
stand in peace till my last day comes.' He did many good and brave deeds for the 
White man and the Redman. 

"Many innocent women and children who knew no wrong, died here. 

"The erection of this monument is largely due to the financial assistance 
of Joseph Horncloud, whose father was killed here." 



This was paid for, and put up by Indians — not white people. 



132 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



after the massacre. It was dedicated in the presence of a great concourse 
of Indians. The inscription is given in Sioux on one side of the shaft, in 
English on the other. The War Department rather objected to it, so I 
was told, but it still stands as a monument typifying our treatment of the 
Indian in these modern days. 

Some of the Sioux are still backward, and there are quite a number 
who do not attend the Protestant or Catholic missions. If one will talk 
with these so-called 4 non-progressives," one may hear them say, "We 
have not forgotten Wounded Knee." 

A few brief concluding statements are in order. A perusal of this long 
narrative indicates that at the first the dance was a purely religious cere- 
mony. The Sioux were deadly in earnest, they were sincere. They danced 
day and night until they dropped from exhaustion. There was nothing 
like it, so far as I can ascertain, in recent times in North America. They 
were in a frenzy. Yet there was no thought of war. Revivals among 
Protestant denominations in this country (especially in remote districts) 
frequently develop religious mania. Many older persons remember the 
"Camp Meetings" of the West and South in which people "got religion." 
The interference of police or troops at such a gathering would bring on a 
riot among the white Christians participating in the services. 

Negroes of the South have been known to become insensible for hours 
— to enter a cataleptic state — and to relate visions on recovering. 
Hysteria at religious gatherings in the South is common among negroes. 

In view of these facts, a religious mania is not surprising among In- 
dians, who sought, as we have seen, salvation out of troubles. In fact the 
craze was induced by their wretched condition. 

There was no danger at any time at Pine Ridge. What we did, not 
once, but on many nights, is proof of the assertion. There were a number 
of newspaper men in the little log hotel at Pine Ridge, and they sent many 
sensational accounts to the Eastern papers. Not one of them ever left the 
agency, until the battle of Wounded Knee had occurred, when a few went 
out to look over the field. Mr. Bartlett, who spoke Sioux quite well, and 
myself, were the only men to my knowledge who left the agency and visited 
the camps in the valley, one or two miles distant. The fact that we were 
able to do so, is sufficient refutation of the statement that the Indians 
desired to fight, or were savages. Both of us would have been killed were 
this statement true. We never experienced the slightest trouble, but on 
the contrary were afforded every facility. We often felt guns and revolvers 
under the blankets on which we reclined in the tipis. Force caused 
Wounded Knee. Humanity would have prevented it. 



CHAPTER XIII. THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES 



This is the largest body of Indians in the United States. They reside 
in the State of Oklahoma and number, according to the Commissioner's 
report,* 101,216. The Five Civilized Tribes are composed of southern 
Indians. A consideration of their tribal customs and ethnology will be 
presented in the next volume of my history. While the Indians follow 
some of their ancient customs, the bulk of them have so far departed from 
the faith of their fathers, that it is advisable to consider their present 
life and needs, rather than their past. 

The report on these Indians for the year ending June 30th, 1913, 
and signed by J. George Wright, Commissioner to the Five Civilized 
Tribes, Dana H. Kelsey, Superintendent of Union Agency, and John B. 
Brown, Supervisor of Education, lies before me. According to this, they 
are divided among the tribes as follows : — 

Cherokees 41,706 Chickasaws 10,989 

Choctaws 24,973 Seminoles 3,119 

Creeks 18,700 Mississippi Choctaws 1,639 

These Indians are known by ethnologists to belong to the great 
Muskhogean stock, and lived in the South, east of the Mississippi. They 
constitute a third of our Indian population. As to why they were removed — 
that is another story. Suffice it to say that the year 1850 found them in 
that region known as Indian Territory. Here they located upon large 
tracts of tribal land amounting to 19,475,614 acres. 

Treaties setting forth that they were to remain in undisturbed pos- 
session of their new homes were duly signed by the United States Govern- 
ment. Although the treaty of 1866 stipulated that they were entitled to 
send a delegate to our Congress, when Congress authorized the admission 
of a representative from Indian Territory, and in spite of the fact that 
some of the tribes made an effort to bring about this result, nothing effectual 
was ever accomplished. 

May 2, 1890, the laws of Arkansas were extended to cover Indian Ter- 
ritory, and March 3, 1901, every Indian of the Territory was declared to be 
a citizen of the United States. 

March 3, 1893, President Cleveland appointed the famous Dawes 
Commission. This undertook to allot to all the Indians of the Five Civilized 
Tribes lands in severalty. There were 200,000 claimants and about 90,000 
were allotted. 

* Report Commissioner Indian Affairs, 1913. 



134 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Although I am tempted to present a mass of statistics and facts proving 
that these most advanced Indians were robbed and despoiled, without 
let or hindrance, that the treaties made with them were cooly set aside, 
statehood promises broken, and finally even the very farms and tracts, 
on which they were to live as citizens and enjoy the blessings of liberty 
and equality, were taken away, I must confine myself to a consideration 
of the subject in its broad aspect. 

It is stated by apologists that Indian Territory became an impossible 
country in which to live, that crime was rampant, and that the Five Nations 
included among their membership thousands of outlaws and robbers. This 
is a gross exaggeration. There were some hundreds of undesirable citizens 
who made Indian Territory their habitat from just previous to the Civil 
War to about the year 1880. Most of these were white men, although 
there was a sprinkling of mixed-bloods and that worst citizen, the individual 
whose blood is made up of a mixture of negro, Indian and white. The older 
Indians, who are more competent to judge, and many of the white persons 
who long ago settled in Oklahoma, maintain that while this class of citizens 
caused a good deal of trouble, yet on the whole the Indians were vastly 
better off between the years 1855 and 1900 than they are at the present 
time.* There was some violence, murder, train robbing and attendant 
evils. As against this, however, the great body of Indians were self-support- 
ing, there was no general graft, and very little pauperism.! There is 
evidence of the correctness of this statement even at the present time. 
In traveling through Oklahoma, overland, for 600 miles, I noticed 
in scores of places the type of house erected by the Indians forty or fifty 
years ago either still standing or in ruins. Their houses were superior, as 
a rule, to the present flimsy, cheap structures erected either by the natives 
themselves, or by Government or State employees for the Indians. The 
old houses were of logs, or heavy boards, the walls being thick. They were 
thus cool in summer and warm in winter. Near every house was an orchard. 
The tracts owned by the Indians were extensive, and cattle, horses and hogs 
had free range. Thus, every Indian family was assured necessary beasts 
of burden and meat for winter use. Now that the allotments have passed 
into the hands of white persons, or are restricted in size, or are leased, 
practically everything is fenced, there are no ranges of consequence; the 
old-style house is gone, the trees in the orchards have decayed and fallen, 
or are cut down, most of the remaining orchards are those of white people, 
although, of course, a few Indian orchards survive. The houses built for 



* Indians of the Territory legislating wisely. Report Board Indian Comissioners to President Grant, 1871. 
f Report of Indian Commissioners. 1872. Indians progressive and raising large crops. 



THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES 



135 



the Indians, or by them, are wretched affairs, small, the walls thin, and not 
substantial. They are hot in summer and cold in winter. 

The Indians having settled down in Oklahoma under their various 
tribal governments, made great progress.* They published papers in their 
own language. The Cherokee capital at Talequah contained creditable 
buildings — a good administration building and two fine Indian schools, 
which may be seen on pages 138 and 146. This school, by the way, built 
by the Cherokee Indians with their own money, is now occupied by white 
pupils. It was the finest building I observed in all Okahoma, and it is a 
standing repudiation to the statement that the Indians were not pro- 
gressing and that they did not afford proper educational facilities to their 
own people. 

At the end of the Civil War, a number of outlaws belonging to guerilla 
bands, both North and South, came into the State. White persons mi- 
grated to the country and occupied it. The Indians complained, and our 
authorities at Washington made a few abortive attempts to keep them 
out, but, as inevitably, the whites dominated. The Dawes Commission 
was formed, and after years of negotiation and coercion, enrollment of 
the Indians began. The rolls are now completed and include the totals 
mentioned in my statistics upon a previous page. 

There were a few Indians who held out against this arbitrary action 
on our part, and right here I wish to pay a compliment to a few old men 
and women, who were treated with contempt, who were called "Snakes" 
in the Creek and "Nighthawks" in the Cherokee nation by the unthinking. 
Why? For the reason that they have a simple, a child-like faith in the 
great United States Nation. They believe that we will keep our pledged 
word. They are not educated and therefore they cannot grasp the essen- 
tials of our civilization as it applies toward Indians; that when we execute 
a ninety-nine year lease among ourselves, we keep it; but that a solemn 
covenant entered into with the Indians is a very different matter. So 
these poor old Snakes and Nighthawks refused to be enrolled and to receive 
allotments, trusting in the honesty and integrity of the Great Father at 
Washington. One of the most pathetic sights I ever witnessed in my life, 
was when old Fixico Harjo and Okoskee Miller, and a few other fine old 
men, of the best type of American Indian, called my attention to our 
solemn covenant with these people, stating that they were helpless, that 
allotments had been forced upon them, that they expected to see even 
these little tracts taken away from them, that they could not understand 

* Capt. G. W. Grayson, official interpreter to the Creek Nation — lived with these Indians sixty years — 
confirms statement of former well-being and progress. 



136 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



the speeches of the clever, shrewd, oily, forked-tongued lawyers and land- 
buyers who came among them; they asked not charity but justice. The 
only thing in this world that was positive, that was true, that was in- 
evitable, was this fact: that every time they touched a pen they lost some- 
thing; that every promise made to them by a white man was broken; 
that they had abandoned all hope save one — - that when they are gathered 
to their fathers, in the great beyond, they hope to find some place where 
they may live in peace and contentment, as in ancient days. 

The Crisis in Oklahoma 

Whenever a crisis arises in the affairs of the Nation, there are always 
men to meet it, and while the forces of evil have conspired against the 
Indian, there have arisen a few champions, and we should not forget the 
service such persons have rendered. Some of them have gone down to 
honorable defeat induced by hatred, treachery, malice and the love of gain. 
Others continue in office, escaping the wiles of the enemy, not through a 
miracle, but through the arousing of the public conscience. Today there 
are some 2,000,000 people in the State of Oklahoma, and as in every other 
State, the great majority of them are upright citizens. They have not 
taken a firm stand for the Indian in the past, for the reason that they did 
not realize what was going on in the eastern part of their State. The 
grafters controlled a tremendous and effective propaganda. The extent 
of this is surprising, and I have received scores of circulars, copies of 
speeches, etc., as evidence of the determined action of those who covet 
the oil, coal, gas, asphalt, farm lands, and timber tracts of the Five Civilized 
Tribes. Every person who is endeavoring to bring about fair play in 
eastern Oklahoma was charged with being "perniciously active in politics", 
if he lived in the State of Oklahoma. If he happened to reside in the East, 
he was either a "sentimentalist", unfamiliar with Indian affairs, or guilty 
of besmirching the fair name of the State of Oklahoma. The better class 
of citizens in the State of Oklahoma became, at last, aroused to the de- 
plorable conditions obtaining among these Indians and they succeeded 
in influencing not only the members of Congress but also the Secretary 
of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs to call a halt. 

The lengths to which a few people went in order to despoil the Indians 
seems incredible in this day of Christianity and civilization. Some men 
made contracts with Indians on a basis of fees of high percentage and 
sought to secure control of Indian moneys in the United States Treasury 
Others made contracts with thousands of Indians to represent them in 
the sale of vast tribal estates — tens of millions of dollars — on a liberal 



THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES 



137 



commission basis. Others became guardians and administrators of estates; 
and there were thousands of these professional guardians. The thing 
became a national scandal. Covetousness overwhelmed eastern Oklahoma. 
Now and then some man sought to stem the tide. A judge was assaulted 
in court by a grafter. He called upon his court officers. They, sympathiz- 
ing with the assailant, did not aid his honor, but merely looked on while 
the grafter beat the judge into insensibility. 

An editor commented upon a certain county judge, before whom 
guardians and administrators had appeared, and told some plain truths 
concerning the manner in which minors' estates were being dissipated. 
The judge drew a knife and stabbed the editor. In neither of these cases 
were the guilty persons punished. What went on throughout the length 
and breadth of eastern Oklahoma seems incredible. I refer readers to the 
various articles cited in my bibliography at the conclusion of Chapter XVI 
for details. 

Matters became so serious that Hon. M. L. Mott, attorney for the 
Creek Indians, decided to sacrifice his career in that country in order to 
obtain justice. He sent the facts concerning the despoliation of thousands 
of Creek minors and incompetents to Honorable Charles H. Burke, Repre- 
sentative from South Dakota. On December 13, 1912, Honorable Mr. 
Burke made a speech in the House of Representatives which aroused the 
good people of Oklahoma and Congress itself to immediate action.* 

Rev. J. S. Murrow, in charge of a large and successful mission at Atoka, 
Oklahoma, published a pamphlet, at his own expense, of thirty-nine 
pages covering the present condition of the Five Civilized Tribes and 
pleading that the ministers of the gospel residing in the State, without 
regard to denomination, do what they could to secure humane and just 
treatment for the Indians. 

Miss Kate Barnard, Commissioner of Charities and Corrections 
for the State, also entered the righteous cause, exposing conditions among 
orphan children, and pointed out how that thousands of paupers would 
have to be supported by the National Government, or the State of Okla- 
homa, if more restrictions to the alienation of Indian lands were removed. 
As a reward for her faithful and humane efforts, Miss Barnard's office is 
virtually abolished, since appropriations are cut off. 

Grant Foreman is an attorney living in Muskogee. He has made 
particular study of the Indian situation and is entirely familiar with all 
the legal aspects, as well as the Indians themselves. Mr. Foreman has 



I have extra copies of Burke's speech, and shall be glad to mail copies to those who desire them. 



THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES 



139 



rendered valuable assistance to Mr. Mott, but has never held office in 
the State, or been employed in the Indian Service. 

The Department of Justice was represented by A. N. Frost, Esq., 
and J. E. Gresham, Esq. Both of these men proceeded against grafters, 
and both are out of the Service. 

The Federal supervision of the Five Civilized Tribes has rested in 
Commissioner J. George Wright and Dana H. Kelsey, Superintendent of 
the Union Agency. These men have been years in the Service. They have 
shown high integrity, tact and wisdom in handling a most delicate situation. 
Under them are employed hundreds of persons — District Agents, teachers, 
clerks, farmers, matrons, etc. Because of the rapid expansion of the oil 
industry in Oklahoma and the discovery of new fields, many of the Indian 
allotments have become very valuable. Naturally, these are coveted by 
white men who never seek Indian property unless it is valuable. In this 
connection I wish to call attention to what, in Oklahoma, is considered 
a great joke on certain white men. Before the discovery of oil, these men 
secured, where possible, large tracts of rich agricultural land. The hilly 
sections were allotted to the more ignorant Indians, the shrewder selected 
the bottom-lands. Through the irony of fate, the richest oilfields have 
been discovered in these same hilly or worthless tracts passed up by the 
first grafters. So, in spite of all that has been done to seize Indian lands, 
many of the incompetent Indians receive large royalties from the oil wells.* 
As these incompetents are under Government supervision, bills to remove 
restrictions have been agitated. Many of the candidates for Congress 
ran upon a platform which may be described as anti-Indian — contrary to 
all State promises, sacredly made. I have original handbills, such as are 
used in Oklahoma elections. Mr. J. H. Maxey presents his portrait and 
says : 

''The Government Must Pay the Taxes on All Non-Taxable Indian 
Land"; "The Affairs of the Five Tribes Must Be Settled." Mr. Reuben 
M. Roddie is even more frank. Over his picture appears in large letters : — 
"Pay the Indians Their Money and Remove all Restrictions." Mr. 
Roddie was defeated and the Hon. Wm. M. Murray, long a friend of the 
Indian, was returned to Congress. 

Mr. Foreman prepared for me a comprehensive statement of con- 
ditions in Oklahoma. It is the best presentation of the subject that I 
have seen and I herewith include it, in the following eight pages. 

"The lands of the Indians were allotted to them with restrictions 
against alienation or encumbrance. The Creek land was restricted to 



* See Reports Commissioner Wright and Superintendent Kelsey as to value of oil properties — 1909-1914. 



140 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



August 8, 1907; the Choctaw and Chickasaw lands could be sold one-fourth 
in one year, one-fourth in three years and the remainder in five years from 
date of patent. The Cherokee land could not be sold for five years. Out 
of each allotment a homestead was reserved, which under the law allotting 
it, could not be sold or taxed for twenty-one years. This was a condition 
agreed to by the Government in order to get the Indians to consent to 
the allotment of their lands. The Creek, Seminole and Cherokee home- 
stead was 40 acres and the Choctaw and Chickasaw 160 acres. Directly 
after the allotting began, a great clamor went up from the white people 
to Congress to remove the restrictions on the sale of a part of the lands 
allotted. In response to this demand, on April 21, 1904, an act was passed 
removing the restrictions against the sale of the lands except homesteads 
of the adult members of the Five Civilized Tribes not of Indian blood, 
which included mainly freedmen citizens of the tribes and affected 
1,500,000 acres of land. 

"In the next month, May, 1904, President Roosevelt commissioned 
Mr. M. L. Mott of North Carolina to act as National Attorney for the 
Creek Tribe of Indians. This appointment was important to the Indians 
of the Five Civilized Tribes, for Mr. Mott took a deep interest in their 
condition and became a forceful advocate for them; he was instrumental 
in impressing enactments upon the Federal statutes and securing from 
the Supreme Court constructions of the statutes that are essential to the 
Indians' welfare and that will secure to them their property rights for 
many years beyond the time allotted by local consent. 

"Soon after Mr. Mott assumed his duties he observed that a large 
part of the land made salable by the Act of April 21, 1904, almost imme- 
diately had passed into the hands of white people and the grossly inade- 
quate consideration received by the allottees had been wasted. This 
was food for serious thought. 

"In response to a popular demand Congress had removed the re- 
striction against sale three years before the land was to become alienable 
according to the agreements under which it was^ allotted. The land and 
money had been frittered away. Under the law, all restrictions on the sale 
of all lands of full-bloods and mixed-bloods, except homesteads, of the 
Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws were to expire by limitation 
within three or four years. In the light of the experience under the Act 
of April 21, 1904, it was not difficult to foretell what would happen when 
these restrictions expired under the impending statehood regime. 

"To avert the calamity threatening the Indians, Mr. 1 Mott bent all 
of his energies to securing an amendment of the law, extending the re- 



THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES 



141 



strictions against the sale of all Indians' land. In the face of strong oppo- 
sition he failed to secure an extension as to mixed-bloods, but Congress 
was prevailed upon to pass a measure extending until 1931 the restrictions 
against the sale of all lands of full-blood Indians except under the super- 
vision of the Secretary of the Interior. This was part of an act of April 
26, 1906, entitled 'An Act for the final disposition of the affairs of the Five 
Civilized Tribes in the Indian Territory, and for other purposes,' which 
was framed to adjust conditions for the inauguration of the new State 
of Oklahoma, then practically assured. 

"The section of the Act extending restrictions was known as the 
McCumber amendment. In urging its passage Senator McCumber read 
to the Senate an argument by Mr. Mott in which he made the statement 
that within thirty days after the Act of April 21, 1904, became effective, 
not ten per cent of the land made salable by that act remained in the 
hands of the allottees, and within sixty days not ten per cent of the allottees 
who had sold possessed a dollar to show for the heritage so improvidently 
disposed of. Senator McCumber and Senator Teller expressed doubt of 
the constitutionality of the amendment, but impressed by the necessities 
of the situation solved the doubt in favor of the Indians by voting for its 
enactment. The wisdom of this measure was vindicated and its con- 
stitutionality was established by the United States Supreme Court on 
May 15, 1911, in the Marchie Tiger case, reported in 221 U. S. Supreme 
Court Reports, page 738. 

"This suit grew out of the fact that after August 8, 1907, conveyances 
were taken from full-blood Creek Indians on the theory that the McCumber 
amendment could not prevent it, in that Congress had not the power 
and had not intended to extend the restrictions to land so purchased. On 
the advice of Mr. Mott the Council of the Creek Nation made an appro- 
priation for the purpose of testing this contention and authorized the 
employment of Mr. W. L. Sturdevant of St. Louis, who was retained by 
Mr. Mott, with the concurrence of the Interior Department, to aid in estab- 
lishing in the courts the binding force of the McCumber amendment. 

"The Oklahoma trial court held against the contention of the Indians 
and the Supreme Court of Oklahoma said that as the lands involved in 
the Tiger case were inherited, Congress did not. intend to restrict the sale 
of them, and that therefore the constitutionality of the Act was not drawn 
in question; but the attorneys were convinced that the local courts did 
not see this Indian question in the light with which grave considerations 
of public policy and conscience illuminated it before the nation, and they 
appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court. This court re- 



142 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



versed the holding of the Oklahoma courts and established the force and 
effectiveness of the McCumber amendment, for the much-needed pro- 
tection of the 40,000 full-blood Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes as to 
all their lands; the court said that it rests with Congress to say when its 
guardianship of the Indians shall cease and that it had not surrendered 
this right by creating the State of Oklahoma. This decision established the 
power of Congress in the future to impose such additional safeguards 
for the protection of the Indians in Oklahoma as their necessities may 
require. On the strength of the principle established in this case, the 
Government in behalf of the Indians brought suits involving 30,000 causes 
of action against white people who had taken deeds from Indians who 
were restricted under the McCumber amendment, the most of which are 
now settled favorably to the Indians. 

"Oklahoma with 1,500,000 population, became a State on November 
16, 1907, upon a pledge contained in her constitution that she would never 
question the jurisdiction of the Federal Government over the Indians 
and their lands or its power to legislate by law or regulation concerning 
their rights or property. Immediately she had a delegation in Congress 
and at once began a determined campaign for further repeal of the laws 
enacted for the protection of the Indians. The main argument employed 
was that the Indians were competent to care for their property and needed 
no legislative protection against improvidence; that the State could be 
trusted to afford them all the protection they required and that Federal 
guardianship and supervision should cease, as an interference with the 
personal privileges and rights of citizens of Oklahoma. And they made 
much of the fact that among the mixed-bloods there are a few individuals 
who are quite shrewd enough to look out for themselves. 

"This fight was highly successful to the white contenders and resulted 
in the enactment of a law on May 27, 1908, exective July 27, 1908, re- 
pealing the restrictions on the sale of a large class of land including all 
homesteads of freedmen and of mixed-bloods of less than half blood, freeing 
from restrictions all told, over 9,720,000 acres. It provided also that all 
homesteads, as well as all other lands from which restrictions against sale 
were removed, should become taxable the same as lands of white people, 
whether sold by the allottee or not. This late act violated the terms of 
the agreements made with the Indians under which the homesteads of the 
Creeks and the allotments, or parts thereof, of the Choctaw and other 
tribes were exempted from taxation for a given period. 

"While this measure was being opposed before the House Committee 
on Indian Affairs, in illustrating the disastrous policy toward the Indians 



THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES 



143 



that Congress was entering upon, Mr. Mott referred to the 8th day of 
August, 1907, when restrictions automatically expired on all lands in the 
Creek Nation, except homesteads, of all allottees of less than full blood. 
He stated that by one o'clock of the morning of the 8th day of August, 
deeds conveying one-half of the lands of the Creek Nation so affected 
were executed and delivered to well-organized land buyers, in many cases 
for inadequate considerations, and that these considerations were frittered 
away in a few weeks. This statement was not controverted. 

"The part of this Act which undertook to subject to taxation the 
homesteads and other lands of the Indians was regarded as destructive 
of their property rights. The Indians had agreed to the allotment of 
their lands upon the condition contained in their treaties that certain 
exemptions from taxation should be observed. The Choctaw and Chickasaw 
lands were to be exempt while owned by the allottees. It was provided that 
in the Creek, Cherokee and Seminole tribes, a homestead of forty acres 
should be reserved from each allotment, which should be non-taxable for 
twenty-one years. This arrangement was favored by the Government 
as a wise policy of equalizing to the Indians the handicap under which 
they were about to enter upon a new method of living. It was seen that 
the destruction of this safeguard would bring disaster to the Indians as 
it would introduce a most insidious agency for divesting the Indians 
of their land under the power to sell for delinquent taxes; and it was 
realized that withdrawing the exemption was the arbitrary taking of 
property without due process of law, which the courts should be asked 
to prevent. 

"These considerations were presented to the Creek Council by their 
attorney soon after the passage of the Act and upon his advice they again 
took an advanced position and decided to test the power of Congress to 
take away from them the right of tax exemption. A resolution to that 
effect was passed by the Creek Council in October, 1908, but it needed the 
approval of the President of the United States to make it effective. And 
here arose a peculiar situation. 

"When Mr. Mott presented the resolution to Mr. Garfield, the Secre- 
tary of the Interior, and the President, they stated that they had approved 
and the President had signed the bill removing restrictions and making 
the unrestricted homesteads taxable. It was represented to the latter 
m reply that the Indians believed they were wronged by the Act, and that 
if the President refused to aid them in getting into court to have their 
rights measured and determined, the Indians would feel that the Govern- 
ment was not acting in good faith toward them and was afraid to have its 



144 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



actions inquired into by the courts. President Roosevelt admitted the force 
of their position and approved the resolution. 

"Mr. Sturdevant again was retained to present this question to the 
courts, together with a similar question arising in the Choctaw Nation, 
the question being common to all the tribes. As in the Marchie Tiger 
restriction case the Oklahoma trial and Supreme courts held against the 
contention of the Indians. They decided that the Indians must pay taxes 
on homesteads as well as on all other land from which restrictions against 
sale were removed. Mr. Sturdevant, confident of his position, appealed 
to the United States Supreme Court and argued the novel question to 
an interested bench which handed down an opinion on May 13, 1912, 
reversing the courts below. It held that the Indians' exemption from 
taxation was a property right that had become vested in exchange for a 
valuable consideration, to wit, the consent of each allottee to take his 
portion of land and yield any claim to all other tribal property, and that 
Congress had no more power to destroy, impair or withdraw that exemption 
than it had to take the land itself. 

"In the opinion the Supreme Court stated a rule by which the rights 
of Indians should always be measured, whether in the courts or in Con- 
gress. It was said that 'the construction (of statutes) instead of being strict, 
is liberal; doubtful expressions, instead of being resolved in favor of the United 
States, are to be resolved in favor of a weak and defenseless people, ivho are 
wards of the nation, and dependent wholly upon its protection and good faith.' 

"Thus was settled a question of far-reaching importance to the Indians 
and particularly to those who have not sold their homesteads. Congress 
cannot take away from the Indians this right established by the Supreme 
Court. But Congress can repeal all the restrictions on the sale of all 
Indians' land and expose them to their own ignorance and improvidence; 
if the present tendency continues, this backward movement will be com- 
pletely consummated in a few years, and at present there is nothing in 
sight to indicate a change of policy. 

"In a recent primary campaign in Oklahoma there were sixty candi- 
dates for Congress of both parties, from whom eight members were to be 
selected. Nearly all of these aspirants for seats in Congress solicited 
support on the promise that if elected they would work for the removal of 
all restrictions on the sale of all Indian land of the Five Civilized Tribes 
in Oklahoma, and for the ' emancipation of eastern Oklahoma from Federal 
supervision.' And they were all in earnest for they knew that to be elected 
they must favor that policy, and the sentiment that sent the winners to 
Congress would exact a strict compliance with that agreement. 



THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES 



145 



"It has been said by members of the Oklahoma delegation in Congress 
that the Indian question is a local question with which the rest of the 
country has no concern, and that the people of Oklahoma should be per- 
mitted to work out their own policy toward the Indian and solve the 
question in their own way. 

"To a limited extent only is this true. The Indian question is a 
National problem which we assumed when we as a nation appropriated 
their land, took them under our protection and arrogated the right to 
control their destinies. We made definite promises to them and mutual 
agreements with them, in reliance upon which they consented to changes 
in their forms of living which the exigencies of our rapidly growing nation 
demanded. If in the next six or eight years these 40,000 full-bloods and 
more than 60,000 mixed-bloods and freedmen shall have frittered away 
their great estate and half of them are paupers, it will not be a State question 
merely — it will be a National scandal. 

"A prophet need not draw deeply for inspiration to see in 1919 the 
Oklahoma delegation rising in Congress and demanding of the Govern- 
ment: — 'What of your stewardship of these Indians, these children of 
nature, whose vast property they entrusted to your protection? Fifteen 
years ago they owned in fee simple — by the same title that we own our 
homes — an estate which today is worth a thousand million dollars, and 
one-half of them are paupers. Look upon your work for just one generation. 
Their property was hedged about by every conceivable legislative pro- 
tection. Treaty after treaty and statute after statute were enacted to 
secure the Indian against his own improvidence and helplessness by you, 
the Government, the only power in the world which could protect or despoil 
him at will. Then you began only a little while ago to tear down this 
protection and to expose him to perils with which he was inexperienced. 
You withdrew a little protection here, you tore down something there, 
time after time, and by your own deliberate acts the Indian was invited 
to pauperize himself until today he is a wanderer upon the earth. Did 
your previous one hundred years of experience with the Indians teach you 
nothing, that you might avoid rewriting some of the miserable chapters 
of history we have been trying to forget? 

" 'He who in 1904 was the independent owner of broad acres of hill 
and valley, of billowing prairie, timbered mountain side and shady streams, 
has not land enough on which to erect a shelter against the storm, nor money 
to build it. His land is making thousands of fortunes annually and sup- 
porting millions of thrifty white people who know nothing of the Indian's 
sacrifice and care less.' 



THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES 



147 



"It seems clear that further removal of restrictions should be dis- 
couraged. Under the present law any land of the Five Civilized Tribes 
other than homesteads may be sold under the watchful eye of the Secretary 
of the Interior. There should be no objection to this method. True, 
before the Secretary will authorize a sale he investigates the proposed 
transaction and he must be satisfied that the Indian wants to sell, that he 
understands the deal, that the consideration offered is adequate and that 
it is actually paid to the Indian, or to the Department, for him — in other 
words, that the Indian is not defrauded. 

"To say in the face of the experience of the past eight years that this 
supervision of the Indian is an unwarranted, unreasonable interference 
with the rights of citizens of a sovereign State, is the shallowest sophistry. 
Under the wise policy of the Interior Department the consideration paid 
for lands of a restricted Indian is received by the Department and expended 
in the construction of improvements on his homestead and for farm im- 
plements, livestock and other necessities of life. Or the money is turned 
over to the Indian in small instalments, the exact course to be pursued in 
each case being determined by an investigation of the Indian's capacity 
and needs. In this way his money is not foolishly spent and he is not 
cheated by unscrupulous white men who too often take advantage of the 
Indian's ignorance and improvidence. Certainly this cannot be objected 
to by the good people of Oklahoma who have no desire to see the Indian 
plundered. 

"The decisions of the Supreme Court have established the right of 
Congress to pass all needful laws for the protection of these Indians and to 
impose necessary supervision of their affairs, and have hereby clearly shown 
that Congress alone is responsible for the fate of these friendless people. 
The objective point of assault will be the next Congress. Will it be able 
to resist the pressure that will be brought to tear down the pitiful remnant 
of protection that remains to these wards of our country? The attitide 
of the Supreme Court and the Interior Department has placed the whole 
Nation under obligation to them, for they have saved us as a people from 
standing pilloried before mankind as entirely faithless to our fair promises 
made to a weaker people. If their illustrious example shall awaken the 
legislative conscience, the Indians who are yet restricted need not view 
with despair the convening of another Congress. But if the present ten- 
dency is not arrested, within five years these Indians will be stripped of 
every measure of protection against their own incompetency. Our wards 
who less than ten years ago were in the full enjoyment of all their property 
rights will have experienced a swift impoverishment without parallel in 
our history." 



CHAPTER XIV. CAPTAIN GRAYSON'S VIEWS; MISS 
BARNARD'S WORK; THE MINORS' ESTATES 

Captain G. W. Grayson of Eufala, who has served many years as 
official interpreter to the Creeks, and who is frequently employed by the 
Smithsonian savants in their studies of Indians, read my Oklahoma manu- 
script and commented as follows : — 

"It is proper to state that in the Creek Nation, excluding negroes, 
some degree of protection and supervision should be extended over two- 
thirds of the people. Some time since, the inquiry was propounded to Mr. 
Kelsey as to why the Government officials found it necessary to withhold 
from the allotee the proceeds of the sale of lands in which he in interested, 
paying it out in small amounts from time to time to him as his need re- 
quired. He promptly replied that the experience of the office had very 
decidedly indicated this to be the humane thing to do. That there were 
many instances where a full-blood Indian was paid a considerable sum 
of royalty money accruing from oil wells on his lands, who was taken in 
charge by bad white men as soon as he left the office, who immediately 
conducted him to some convenient brothel where drink is one of the allure- 
ments, and rob him of every penny of the money paid to him. This happens 
usually during the night following the payment, when on the morning 
after the robbery, appears the Indian pleading to be again paid at least 
sufficient to pay his railroad fare so he can get out of town. To this 
officer of the Government, it appeared very clear that it was the duty of 
the Agents of the Department who, in a large sense, had assumed the 
guardianship of these Indians, to adopt such precautions as would prevent 
a recurrence of like enormities. 

"Another method adopted, and in many cases practiced, is that of 
allowing the visiting payee only sufficient money to purchase his imme- 
diate necessities while in the city, advising him to call at the postoffice 
in his home town, where the rest of his money due him is sent to him in 
the form of a check. 

"The theory on which such action is based is, that the Indian re- 
ceiving his money at his home, where he is free from the influence of intoxi- 
cants and bad white men, he can wisely advise his wife as to what use to 
which this money may be appropriated, and in these cool and sober mo- 
ments, plan and adopt ways of disbursement that will actually benefit 
the family." 



THE MINORS' ESTATES 



149 



On May 17th, 1912, the Chairman of the Board of Indian Commis- 
sioners, Honorable George Vaux, Jr., visited Oklahoma and spent some 
time traveling through the Cherokee, Creek and Seminole countries. He 
was accompanied by Dana H. Kelsey, Esq., Superintendent of the Union 
Indian Agency, having in charge the Five Civilized Tribes. Mr. Vaux's 
findings were published in the 43rd Annual Report of the Board, 1912. 

Desiring to study the Oklahoma situation in its broader aspects, I 
visited Oklahoma in March, 1913, in company with J. Weston Allen, 
Esq., who represented the Boston Indian Citizenship Committee and other 
organizations. We spent considerable time not only in consultation with 
various Government officials and private citizens, but also in driving over 
the Creek, Seminole and Cherokee countries. 

Mr. Allen remained after I returned East, and drove many miles 
through the region inhabited by the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, 
and made a report to me on the situation as he found it. 

Both of us took numerous photographs showing the actual conditions 
under which the Indians are living. 

I made a report on conditions and submitted recommendations to our 
Chairman, Mr. Vaux, and to the Honorable Secretary of the Interior. 
This report was criticised in Congress by Honorable Mr. Stephens, Rep- 
resentative from Texas. Apparently Mr. Stephens did not read the report. 
He stated in his speech of July 27th, during discussion of the Indian ap- 
propriation bill : — 

"Mr. Moorehead, the Commissioner mentioned by the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Graham) a few moments ago, went to Oklahoma last 
year and by unjust criticism of Indian officials there stirred up more trouble 
for the Indian Bureau than has ever before occurred in the settlement 
of the matters of the Five Tribes." 

Mr. Stephens desired to see the Board of Indian Commissioners 
abolished. Speaking for myself personally, and not for the Board, I desire 
to say that a few years ago it was stated that the Board was not active. 
Immediately the Board extended its work and projected a number of 
important investigations, which were carried to a successful end. In the 
last Congress the Board was criticised for being too active, especially in 
Oklahoma. Friends of the Board rallied to its support and the former 
appropriation of $4,000 was raised to the present amount of $10,000. 

The past two years studies of Indian conditions by members of the 
Board have been carried on in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, New Mexico and 
Arizona. This winter the Board intends to investigate conditions on the 
Pacific Coast, in the Northwest, Oklahoma, Montana and elsewhere. 



150 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



In reply to Mr. Stephens' two speeches, I wrote to him and pointed 
out wherein he was in error. No answer has been received to these letters. 
Careful reading of my report will convince any unprejudiced person of 
this fact — that instead of criticising the Indian Office officials in Oklahoma, 
I commended them. The only criticisms were those aimed at the grafters, 
and in nearly fifty instances I gave names of guardians or administrators, 
who had swindled Indians, giving details gleaned from court records. The 
report urged the Congressional delegation from Oklahoma to take a firm 
stand in behalf of the Indians. 

Much injury is done to the cause for which we are all striving by such 
speeches as the one cited above. In closing my comments on this unfor- 
tunate matter, I desire to state that friendly relations exist between myself 
and all the Government officials, and that without exception, everyone 
of them has furnished, or offered, information for this book. 

Miss Kate Barnard last winter began a radical campaign on behalf 
of the Oklahoma Indians. I am sorry space does not permit the recital 
of Miss Barnard's dramatic story. It seems that for years she was in 
charge of the Department of Charities and Corrections, for the State. She 
found in the orphans' homes and poorhouses, large numbers of small 
children, chiefly Indians. Investigation proved that these children were 
once possessed of valuable property, out of which guardians had swindled 
them. After the robbery became complete, the guardians avoided personal 
responsibility by persuading judges to declare the children homeless 
paupers; and placed them in State institutions, where they were supported 
at public expense. The number of children declared paupers mounted into 
the thousands. The thing became a national scandal, and Miss Barnard 
soon found herself involved in a fight with the politicians and grafters 
who profited by these wholesale swindles. Miss Barnard's official reports 
for the years 1909 to 1913 describe many of these cases in heart-rending 
detail. The appropriations for her department were wholly inadequate 
to care for more than a fraction of the State wards, and she was compelled 
to cooperate with the Federal authorities. This brought her department 
in line with Mr. Mott, Mr. Kelsey and others who were fighting to bring 
about similar reforms. 

Naturally, she aroused powerful opposition in her own State. The 
cry of "Eastern sentimentalism " could not be raised against her, she being 
a State employee. Her campaign seriously affected oil, land and other 
interests. Hence, the Legislature cut off her appropriation, allowing her 
salary, but no funds for publication, employment of assistants, travel or 
other necessary items, whereupon Miss Barnard visited Chicago and 



THE MINORS' ESTATES 



151 



raised some thousands of dollars with which to wage a campaign of edu- 
cation. She has organized eleven counties, and although hampered in 
every way by the grafters, speaks to large gatherings throughout the State. 
At one meeting 8000 persons assembled to hear her. 

She delivered a stirring address at the Lake Mohonk Conference 
October 21st, this year, and through her efforts the Conference introduced 
a plank in its platform to the effect that if Oklahoma failed to properly 
protect her restricted Indians, the Federal Government should resume 
jurisdiction over them. 

Miss Kate Barnard is justly called the "Joan of Arc of Oklahoma". 

Of slight figure — even frail — she is possessed of lion's courage and 
is a most direct, forceful and dramatic speaker. I asked her able assistant 
and attorney, Mr. Huson, "Where are all these big men of the West, the 
fellows of the big and courageous hearts, the men we read so much about? 
Why are they not supporting this woman in her heroic fight?" 

He replied: "Oh, they have hearts, all right, when it comes to other 
matters. But so long as they can make millions out of the Indians, it's 
no use to talk the humanities to them. They all follow David Harum's 
golden rule." 

In a letter dated July 23, 1912, Mr. H. Huson, Assistant Commissioner 
of the State Department of Charities and Corrections, which was presented 
to Congress by President Taft in his veto of the bill attempting to validate 
inherited land titles, it was also said: 

"Armed with this authority Miss Barnard has intervened in behalf 
of approximately 3,000 orphans, nearly all of these Indian children whose 
estates were being exploited or disposed of by incompetent or grafting 
guardians. We have had many guardians removed, and we have saved 
for these children since this law became operative something like $100,000 
in money and prevented the sale or return of something like 115,000 acres 
of land." 

Yet in spite of her good work she is now compelled to fight for 
existence. 

The Indian Office decided to take a hand in the struggle, and Honorable 
Cato Sells, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, visited Oklahoma early this 
year, brought together all the probate judges and other officials and made 
a plea for cooperation in the prevention of further despoiling of the Indian. 
A set of rules, or method of procedure, was adopted, and the probate 
judges of Oklahoma have agreed to follow them. Everyone hopes Mr. 
Sells' plan will work to the advantage of the minors and dependents. 



152 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Of the thousands of cases where minors and incompetents were swindled 
out of property, I present but three or four typical of the larger number. 
These are from official ecords. 

One man was guardian in thirty-one cases involving more than fifty 
minors. In all but one case this man as guardian had been dealing with 
his brothers in the purchase of merchandise for his wards. There is but 
one exception, that of a minor eighteen years old who was away at school. 
A Government officer on behalf of these minors protested against such 
practice and asked to file exceptions and proceed in all of these cases. I 
am informed that the judge did nothing. 

A guardian had a ward, Sam Bighead, a full-blood Indian boy five years 
of age, who owned 560 acres of valuable land, much of which produced 
oil. Eighty acres of this land was sold for the sum of $10,000.00 cash. 
Although this boy owned 480 acres of land and $10,000.00 cash, he was 
placed in the Creek Orphan Asylum where he died May 18, 1910. This 
boy, entitled to proper care and treatment, was placed with the children 
of paupers. Why the guardian wished to have on hand such a large sum 
of cash, all of which was unnecessary for the maintenance of the ward, 
since the ward was a public charge, passes comprehension. 

When the poor boy died, there was left of this $10,000.00, $2,884.30 
in cash, and a $5,000.00 loan on first mortgage. 

Death did not stay the actions of the guardian; he became appointed 
administrator. As administrator he accounted for $11,424.30. He re- 
ported that $6,074.96 was the balance on hand of the estate. Of this sum 
$5,627.00 was divided into four equal parts for four heirs. However, the 
Government special agent Farrar contends that in three of these cases 
attorney fees of 25% each were charged. So finally, out of the estate of 
$11,424.00, $4,405.85 was placed in the hands of the heirs. How can some 
Oklahoma citizens clamor for withdrawal of Government supervision 
after reading this story? 

A man named Jerry Bunce was guardian of an Indian boy (Choctaw) 
named Tonihka. Some of the inherited land of the boy had been sold 
by the guardian through the probate court, and there were in the possession 
of the guardian funds belonging to his ward amounting to $1100. The 
guardian bought a cow and calf for the ward; the boy slipped the calf 
away and sold it and with the proceeds bought him some clothes. The 
guardian employed an attorney and had the boy arrested charging him 
with larceny of the calf. Other attorneys were employed to defend the boy. 
The guardian paid the attorneys on both sides of the case $900 of the boy's 
money — one side for prosecuting and the other side for an alleged defense ; 



THE MINORS' ESTATES 



153 



when the case came up for trial the attorney defending plead guilty for 
the boy, who was convicted without a word of evidence, and sent to the 
reform school. Bunce died, and his successor as guardian told my informant 
the above facts, and said that when he talked with the attorneys involved 
they treated the matter as a great joke. 

In 1910 a full-blood Choctaw Indian named Simon Wakaya was 
found dead and charred in the ashes of his cabin. An investigation showed 
that he had been shot before the cabin was burned. This Indian had 
dealt in cattle and owned a small herd of stock in addition to his allotment. 
Two or three days after the death, there was filed in the county offices a 

bill of sale conveying all of his cattle to a man named Bill — .* At 

the same time there was filed for probate in the county court, a will pur- 
porting to have been executed by Wakaya conveying his allotment to 

Henry .* A Government representative satisfied himself that the 

will was a forgery and induced a relative to contest the will. After a pre- 
liminary hearing occurred in the county court, the matter was appealed 
to the district court and full disclosure of all the facts was had. 

The judge issued a bench warrant, charging them all with murder, 
perjury, forgery and arson. These men gave bond at the time and for two 
years they have been at liberty and have never been brought to trial. This 
last remark merely illustrates the apathy of the white people of this State 
in matters involving the welfare of the Indians. It is a fact demonstrated 
a hundred times a day in this State that the white population cares very 
little about the rights of the Indians and it is difficult to secure a con- 
viction of white people for many felonies committed upon Indians. This 
is most frequently illustrated in the matter of forgeries in the securing 
of pretended deeds from unrestricted Indians. Upon failure to secure 
a deed the white man is not yet at the end of his resources, for he can still 
either forge a deed or get some Indian or freedman to impersonate the 
owner of the land and execute a conveyance, acknowledge it before a 
notary and have it recorded. 

A full-blood Cherokee, now about twenty-six, was allotted valuable 
land in the vicinity of Bartlesville. She had no relatives, and at the age 
of four years she was taken into the family of a white man, but not formally 
adopted. When the allotments were made he was appointed her guardian. 
When she became of age he was discharged. During his guardianship about 
$4500.00 came into the guardian's hands as guardian. Upon a final account- 
ing he filed receipts for over $2,000 as having been paid to his ward, but 
which it is claimed he admitted really never was paid to her. 



* Names omitted. 



154 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



When this girl became of age a new oil lease was made with her for 
which, a bonus of $8,000 was paid, which money went into the hands of 
the guardian and which it is alleged he likewise admitted he diverted to 
his own use. It is also claimed that approximately $2500 royalty has 
been received by the guardian for this girl. It is claimed that the guardian 
has admitted that he owed this girl approximately $20,000. The ward 
lived in the home of her guardian ostensibly as a servant. She is of weak 
mind and really an incompetent. In September, 1910, the guardian se- 
cured a divorce from his wife, and afterwards, it is claimed, continued to 
live with his ward. 

As an illustration of the extremes to which these grafters sometimes 
resort, my attention was called to a case of an adult who had died and left 
a valuable property. In order to get large allowances from the estate 
padded expense accounts were put in for the burial robes, metallic caskets, 
etc., although the relatives who attended the burial stoutly insisted that 
only a box, and the cheapest clothes were used. In this instance, the 
grafters, knowing that an investigation was to be made, exhumed the 
body and placed same in a metallic casket, and carried off and destroyed 
the pine box in which the burial had originally been made! 

Miss Barnard found a pauper child in an almshouse. Investigation 
proved that the guardian disposed of a valuable "oil allotment" for $50,000. 
Instead of using a part of this money for the child's education, he appro- 
priated it to his own use. A portion of the money was recovered and the 
child placed in an educational institution. 

Indians about to become of age possessing valuable allotments, were 
taken to remote points — Denver, Minneapolis, etc. Henry Purchase 
was taken to St. Louis, and detained until he signed a deed to his property. 
Marcus Corey was found by Secret Service men in Southampton, England, 
and returned after much trouble to his parents. Marcus possessed property 
worth $40,000. 

Cases are on record where Indians were poisoned, or confined in rooms 
in obscure hotels, until they signed away their property. The ignorant 
were easy prey to the grafters, as this newspaper clipping of 1913 
attests : 

Oklahoma City, June 25. — In an opinion handed down today by Associate Justice Jesse 
Dunn, of the supreme court that body holds that two Mississippi Choctaw Indian girls who 
were so ignorant that they would have sold their allotments on which were valuable asphalt 
deposits and which are worth $40,000 for $850 came under the statutory terms of mentally 
incompetent persons and that the county court of Marshall County should appoint a guardian 
for them. The girls admitted that they could neither read nor write, did not know when their 
mother died or how many $5 bills it would take to make a hundred. 



THE MINORS' ESTATES 



155 



In most States guardian and administrator fees range from as low as 
2% to as high as 5% or 6%. In Oklahoma, the administrators and guard- 
ians charged from 3% to as high as 80% for service and costs in settling 
up the affairs of these defenseless people. I present a random page from 
Mr. Mott's long report. This was included by the Honorable Mr. Burke 
in his speech. 




SHACK OF A POOR CREEK INDIAN, OKLAHOMA 
Photographed in 1913 



In defending such charges, one gentleman claimed that some of these 
estates consisted of small tracts, widely scattered. Therefore, the charges 
must of necessity be high. This is true of very few cases, especially since 
small tracts widely separated were rarely ever sought after by the grafter 
guardians, who in some localities were opprobiously designated as pro- 
fessional guardians. The figures speak for themselves, and should be 
considered by every thoughtful man and woman in this country, as they 
tell a story of robbery unparalleled in American history. 

No. 626. Amount handled, $2,085, at cost of $1,494.93, or 71.2 per cent. 

Nos. 1411-1412. Amount handled, $65,266.92, at cost of $19,315.23, or 29.4 per cent. 

No. 1133. Amount handled, $3,286.94, at cost of $1,721.52, or 52.3 per cent. 

No. 1556. Amount handled, $41,502.16, at cost of $21,953.60, or 52.8 per cent. 



6 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The following cases will be found in Mcintosh County, Exhibit C : 

Xo. 32. Amount handled, $1,328.52, at cost of $937.89, or 70.5 per cent. 

Xo. 310. Amount handled, $600, at cost of $305.50, or 50.9 per cent. 

Xo. 359. Amount handled, $1,960, at cost of $695.50, or 35.4 per cent. 

Xo. 428. Amount handled, $17,944.26, at cost of $3,043.07, or 16.9 per cent. 

Xo. 669. Amount handled, $1,787.50, at cost of $609.49, or 34 per cent. 

In Exhibit D, for Tulsa County, will be found the following cases: 

Xo. 7. Amount handled, $14,944.37, at cost of $3,267, or 21.8 per cent. 

Xo. 110. Amount handled, $2,094.28, at cost of $1,274.75, or 60.8 per cent. 

No. 273 (a). Amount handled, $9,520.12, at cost of $2,487.67, or 26.1 per cent. 

Xo. 273 (e). Amount handled, $29,296.76, at cost of $6,523.15, or 22.2 per cent. 

Xo. 1014 (b). Amount handled, $19,534.12, at cost of $3,611.30, or 18.6 per cent. 

Exhibit E, for Creek County, contains the following cases: 

Xo. 16. Amount handled, $13,675.37, at cost of $3,093.60, or 22.6 per cent. 
Xo. 36. Amount handled, $54,968.10, at cost of $10,650.43, or 19.9 per cent. 
Xo. 182. Amount handled, $64,863.42, at cost of $11,810.59, or 18.2 per cent. 

(The above three cases were under the same guardianship). 
Xo. 42. Amount handled, $1,740, at cost of $793.75, or 45.7 per cent. 
Xo. 188. Amount handled, $1,347.78, at cost of $759.37, or 56.3 per cent. 
The cases below will be found in Exhibit F, for Okmulgee County : 
Xo. 10. Amount handled, $8,688.21, at cost of $2,243.85, or 25.8 per cent. 
Xo. 280. Amount handled, $2,855, at cost of $1,038.82, or 36.3 per cent. 
Xo. 152. Amount handled, $1,321.50, at cost of $1,196.50, or 90.5 per cent. 
Xo. 136. Amount handled, $2,026.55, at cost of $778.95, or 38.4 per cent. 
Xo. 540. Amount handled, $2,570, at cost of $1,684.64, or 65.5 per cent. 
In Exhibit G, for Okfuskee County, will be found the following cases: 
Xo. 271. Amount handled, $3,270, at cost of $911.96, or 27.8 per cent. 
Xo. 237. Amount handled, $698.60, at cost of $364, or 52.1 per cent. 
Xo. 179. Amount handled, $3,208.05, at cost of $983.10, or 30.6 per cent. 
Xo. 98. Amount handled, $1,674.40, at cost of $482.57, or 28.8 per cent. 
I also call attention to the following cases found in Exhibit H, for Hughes County: 
Xo. 223. Amoung handled, $2,372.50, at cost of $909.58, or 38.3 per cent. 
Xo. 305. Amount handled, $4,939, at cost of $1,147, or 23.2 per cent. 
Xo. 480. Amount handled, $1,950, at cost of $717.95, or 36.8 per cent. 
X~o. 984. Amount handled, $2,847.79, at cost of $744.44, or 26.2 per cent. 
Xo. 1039. Amount handled, $806.40, at cost of $107.64, or 50.5 per cent. 



It will thus be seen that these methods and practices apply generally throughout the Creek 
Xation, and while they may exist in a greater degree in one county than another, the general 
situation is substantially the same. It is reasonable to presume also that in that large number 
of cases, as above pointed out, to wit, 4,339, where no reports of guardians have been made, 
and where files are out, equally bad or even worse conditions prevail. 



CHAPTER XV. WHAT IS LEFT OF INDIAN PROPERTY 

IN OKLAHOMA 

We have looked upon the dark side of Oklahoma Affairs, let us look 
on the bright side for a moment. From last year's report of J. George 
Wright, Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes, it is learned that 
there are 32,939 restricted Indians. These are still protected by the Gov- 
ernment, and all own homesteads. Notwithstanding the thousands of 
Indians who have been swindled out of their property, or sold same at 
ridiculously low prices, a great deal remains — sufficient to provide every 
Indian of the tribes with a homestead and enough agricultural land to 
maintain himself and family, provided he is protected in his rights; all 
hinges upon that word provided. 

As to the true value of this land, I shall not present the statistics, 
but the entire 19,000,000 acres, held by Indians and Whites, because of 
the great oilfields, coal and asphalt lands timber and farm lands, must 
be worth at least $1,000,000,000. About half of this, or $500,000,000, it 
is claimed that the Indians still own, largely because of the restrictions 
placed upon their property 

Much of this land is what is known as tribal land, and when sold the 
amount is placed to the credit of the tribe. The tribal attorneys, the 
Government officials, and practically everyone believes that the lands 
should be sold, and the money divided up among the Indians. The reasons 
for this, I have briefly presented on page 28, when speaking of Indians 
in general. By this method, we will rid the Indians of an ever-increasing 
swarm of attorneys and remove all incentive to unwise legislation. 

Of the number of Indians at work, the value of their crops and labor, 
no man may know. Estimates vary, but I suppose that it is no exaggera- 
tion to state that about a third of the males belonging to the Five Civilized 
Tribes work — thousands of them regularly. The Government has en- 
couraged this through the District Agents, or field helpers, whose duty 
it is to instruct the Indians in farming, to protect them in their rights 
and to exercise a general supervision over them. These field agents stood 
between the Indian and the grafter, and there was a determined effort on 
the part of a few men to have the entire number dismissed from the Service. 
However, Congress continued the appropriation and these worthy men 
are assured of another year's effort on behalf of the Indians. 

Some of the illustrations presented in these chapters are from photo- 
graphs taken by Mr. Allen and myself in Oklahoma and will give an idea 




OLD-STYLE CABIN, 1850-1890 
Cherokee, Oklahoma. Photographed, 1913 



INDIAN PROPERTY IN OKLAHOMA 



159 



of the homes of the Indians, and some of the farms they have brought 
under cultivation. 

The unallotted lands have usually been sold at auction and since 
November 1, 1910, 1,838,921 acres have been sold for $10,458,945, or an 
average of $5.68 per acre. This seems rather low price, but as most of 
the lands were not developed and many tracts had grown up to bushes, 
it is the best that could be obtained under the circumstances. 

Of immense value are the segregated coal and asphalt lands in Choctaw 
and Chickasaw nations. These total 455,303 acres. The value has been 
variously estimated, and it is impossible to accurately or even approxi- 
mately state the amount. Coal tracts, in the eastern part of the United 
States, have been known to sell as high as $1,000 an acre. The price may 
vary from $50 for tracts wherein the veins are thin, to $500 for heavy 
vein of the best grades of bituminous coal. It will thus be seen that at 
the lowest estimate coal contained in this enormous area is of exceeding 
value, and this statement does not take into account the great asphalt 
deposit of undoubted value. Up to the present, the Government has 
successfully resisted attempts of those who would secure control of this 
property. Commissioner Wright, on page 28 of his report, states that there 
is in cash deposited to the credit of the Indians, in banks in the State of 
Oklahoma, $4,474,189.45. The interest paid on this sum varies from 
4% to 6%. 

Some of the coal and asphalt lands have been leased to mining com- 
panies and during the year ending June 30, 1913, 3,103,071 tons of coal 
and 4,752 tons of asphalt were mined; the royalty on the coal being eight 
cents per ton and on crude asphalt ten cents, refined asphalt sixty cents 
per ton. 

The tribal attorneys, acting for these Five Civilized Tribes, and 
occupying high positions of trust and responsibility, have, without ex- 
ception, done what they could to further the interests of their clients. 

The existence of the Cherokee terminated June 30, 1914, and all 
tribal offices were abolished. Whether the Cherokees will prosper remains 
to be seen. 

In addition to the totals presented, it must be recorded that 
$2,480,739.35 were distributed to individual Indians. This sum was 
received from oil royalties, lease privileges, mining royalties, rents, 
bonuses, etc. 

Dana H. Kelsey, Superintendent of the Union Agency, and acting 
in conjunction with Commissioner Wright last year handled a grand 
total of $8,215,989.71. Some idea of the enormous amount of business 



160 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



transacted by his office may be gleaned from the statement that pieces of 
mail matter (over half of which were letters) during the year totaled 364.218. 
His office investigated about 18,000 leases, land cases, complaints and 
probate cases all relating to Indian property. The net saving to the Indians 
by this governmental supervision was $667,352.25. 

Mr. Kelsey states: "At the advent of statehood there were no ample 
facilities to afford proper protection to the minor and incompetent Indians, 
the former of which number approximately 60,000." 

Some of the difficulties with which his office has had to contend may 
be imagined from the following quotation : — 

"Many parties who sought to secure these lands either controlled the 
appointment of the guardian or connived with the guardian to purchase 
the land at grossly inadequate prices, the difference between the purchase 
price and the actual price of the land being the profit realized by the guard- 
ian and the purchaser. In other instances parents who were appointed 
guardians of their children sold their children's allotments and dissipated 
the proceeds. This work discloses many instances w T here parties desiring 
to lease minor allotments secured the appointment of themselves or em- 
ployees as guardian, and by so controlling the land sought they were able 
to profit to a considerable extent in subleasing lands for, in some instances, 
many times the amount paid. Many of these leases provided for the im- 
provement of the land in lieu of cash rental, while none of the improvements 
were made. Many complaints lodged with the field clerks are from the 
unrestricted Indians, who, upon attaining their majority, find that their 
allotments have been sold and the funds dissipated by the guardian, leav- 
ing them penniless." 

I visited Mr. Kelsey's office and spent a number of days there watching 
the conduct of business. The tremendous activity in the oilfields, and 
the thousands of applications for oil leases or purchase of Indian lands 
pass, for the most part, through his hands and those of his able assistants. 
If it were not for his efforts and those of Commissioner Wright, and the 
tribal attorneys (and not to omit Mr. Mott, Mr. Foreman and Miss Bar- 
nard), in other words, if there had not appeared before those who sought 
to despoil the Indians this "stone wall defense", there would be little to 
record today beyond the fact that the Five Civilized Tribes at one time 
possessed a great deal of property. 

Mr. Kelsey served over ten years as Superintendent of the Union 
Agency and is thoroughly familiar with conditions in Oklahoma. His 
recommendations, therefore, should carry weight. They are found on page 
93 of his report. 



INDIAN PROPERTY IN OKLAHOMA 



161 



"1. Continued and more practical care of the health and property 
of the older, uneducated, full-blood Indian, and the disposition, under 
proper supervision, of his excess land holdings. 

"2. The immediate placing of all mature, able-bodied Indians 
entirely upon their own resources when shown that they have had suf- 
ficient experience or education to enable them to earn a livelihood. 

"3. Systematic and compulsory education of every Indian child, 
and conservation of his property in the meantime." 

He emphasizes the education of Indian children for the reason that 
back in the hills in Oklahoma there are several thousand children not 
officially recognized as members of the tribes, for the reason that they have 
been born since the rolls were closed. As no provision is made for the 
education of these, he properly claims that these children constitute one 
of the great problems in Oklahoma. He also states that most of the adult 
Indians have remaining more or less property or money. I would add 
to his recommendations that this property and money must be wisely 
safeguarded else the Indians will become paupers. Already a few of them 
are living on the section lines, along the county roads. And this number 
will increase rapidly, unless we make the citizenship real and effective. 

The office held by Mr. Wright now being consolidated with that of 
Mr. Kelsey, he acts as Supervisor. I wrote him a long letter concerning 
the Oklahoma situation, and a portion of his reply should be included in 
this book : — 

"So far as the consolidation of the two offices is concerned, I rather 
feel that you were unduly anxious over its effect. I have had the respon- 
sibility of the entire work now for nearly two months, and am more than 
ever convinced that the time was ripe for it and it was good administration 
to have it all under one head, provided that head is the right sort of a man, 
and that there will be no ill effects therefrom. It was bound to come, and 
had better come while there was somebody here who knew how to do it 
than later. I am having such fun getting it working smoothly that it will 
soon be only an incident. I am happy to say that the good work to protect 
the Indians goes on I think better now than ever. We are getting excellent 
results from the new probate attorney organization, in cooperation with 
our former field force (which is still intact) , and not only preventing new 
abuses, but, as time permits, delving into and correcting many old and 
rotten ones affecting minors, and I think the cooperation of the probate 
courts — especially since the earnest entrance into the thing by the Com- 
missioner personally — is a hundred per cent better than it was before, 



162 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



all of which I helped plan, and with which I feel I have had much to do. 
"Muskogee, Oct. 23rd, 1914." 

All of the above is very encouraging, and I hope the consolidation 
and the probate attorneys will work together for the result we all desire. 

It would not be proper to close the Oklahoma affair without saying 
a few words concerning Mr. Mott and Captain Grayson. 

Captain George W. Grayson has served as official Creek interpreter 
for many years. He understands the history of his tribe, is entirely in 
sympathy with their aims, and has done much to aid the various tribal 
attorneys in Oklahoma. With a fine Indian, Moty Tiger, Chief of the 
Creek Nation, he has frequently visited Washington. I asked Captain 
Grayson to read the manuscript of my Oklahoma section prior to pub- 
lication, and am indebted to him for valuable suggestions and information. 
Captain Grayson as interpreter has been made use of by the Smithsonian 
Institution men in their investigations of Creek language, mythology and 
family life. There is no more able interpreter in all the State of Oklahoma. 

Mr. M. L. Mott has been referred to in previous pages of this chapter. 
In closing, I would call attention to a remarkable scene which occurred 
in the office of the Secretary of the Interior in February, 1914. The Okla- 
homa delegation in Congress from the state of Oklahoma, had opposed 
the reappointment of Mott as attorney for the Creek Indians. As we 
have seen in previous pages, Mott put up a heroic fight on behalf of his 
clients, thereby incurring the ill will of many persons. Each afternoon for 
five days, were arrayed against him all the Congressmen from Oklahoma. 
At the conclusion of these lengthy sessions, in which the opponents were 
unable to prove anything of consequence against Mr. Mott, the Secretary 
of the Interior issued him the following letter: 

The Secretary of the Interior 
Washington 

February 14, 1914. 

My dear Mr. Mott: 

Chief Moty Tiger and myself have agreed upon Judge Allen 
as your successor as Attorney for the Creek Nation. 

I shall always take pleasure in contemplating the manner 
in which you conducted yourself during the inquiry here. That 
you have been honest under difficulties and fearless at all times in 
doing your duty, seems to be admitted even by those to whom you 
have been most antipathetic. 



INDIAN PROPERTY IN OKLAHOMA 



163 



I am glad to know that you are going to return to Oklahoma 
and I trust that by mingling freely with those people they will 
come to see you as a man of ideals. 

Cordially yours, 

(Signed) Franklin K. Lane 

M. L. Mott, Esq., 

Washington, D. C. 

We may search governmental records in vain for a parallel case. 
Here was a faithful servant of the public, a loyal friend to the Indians. 
The Congressmen appeared against him in force and brought up every 
conceivable charge, in order to encompass his fall; striving to preserve 
official peace in Oklahoma, the Honorable Secretary was forced to replace 
him, yet at the same time wrote a commendatory letter in Mott's behalf. 

The night following his honorable defeat, I saw Mott in his room 
at the National Hotel. With him were two staunch friends of the Creeks, 
Chief Moty Tiger and Captain G. W. Grayson. Mott uttered a remarkable 
prophecy: "Moorehead, they are rid of me. The next step will be to 
force out the Department of Justice men, Gresham and Frost; then Kelsey 
and Wright will have to go; Kate Barnard must stop protecting minor 
heirs, or her board will be abolished; also your Indian Commissioners. 
Having cut off the real fighters, then they will remove restrictions. A few 
years hence — and do not forget this — the Oklahoma Congressmen will 
ask the American people to support Indian paupers, claiming that Federal 
negligence has brought distress to thousands, and that the State of 
Oklahoma must not be called upon to care for these indigents. Most 
people who took Indian lands will not be compelled to return them, and 
the Federal slate will be wiped clean of the 30,000 land suits now pending." 

In eight months, nearly half of Mott's prophecy has been verified. 



CHAPTER XVI. THE LEASING SYSTEM; CHOCTAW AND 
CHICKASAW; FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS 

Few Indian matters in our honorable Congress have had more pub- 
licity than the so-called McMurray contracts. Several chapters of this 
book could be devoted to describing the propositions made by Mr. Mc- 
Murray and his associates and the far-reaching effects on the Indians 
of Oklahoma were these carried into effect. But I must content myself 
with calling attention to the bibliography at the end of this chapter. The 
testimony and investigations cover hundreds of pages. 

Mr. McMurray made contracts with thousands of Indians on a per- 
centage basis. P. J. Hurley, Esq., attorney for the Choctaw Indians, 
opposed the McMurray contracts before Congressional Committees and 
in court. Hurley contended that McMurray would receive at the least 
possible estimate $3,500,000 in fees, the undistributed portion of the 
Choctaw and Chickasaw estate being $35,000,000 minimum valuation. 
The struggle for so large a stake has extended through a number of years. 
So far Mr. Hurley, and other friends of the Indians, have succeeded in 
preventing McMurray carrying his contracts into effect. 

The Choctaw and Chickasaw affairs are both interesting and com- 
plicated, and tell a different story from that of the Creeks. Further ref- 
erence to Cherokees and Seminoles may be omitted, as their story is prac- 
tically that of the Creeks. 

A little more than two-thirds of the entire acreage — - a vast domain 
over 200 miles east and west, and an average of approximately 100 miles 
north and south — was allotted and sold for the benefit of these three classes 
of Indians, the Choctaws, Chickasaws and Mississippi Choctaws, about 
37,600 in number — a little more than one-third of the total Oklahoma 
enrollment. 

The eastern third of this territory is especially rich in coal and hard- 
wood timber. What is shown upon the map as the Choctaw Nation 
contains the largest coal deposits in what is generally known as the Mis- 
sissippi valley, and when allotment of lands began in 1903, this country 
was practically covered with a rich growth of pine timber of the finest 
quality. 

The Chickasaw Nation comprised the greatest agricultural and stock- 
raising lands, some of which had been under cultivation for half a century. 
By the use of these vast estates, they became well-to-do and self-supporting. 
The richness of the country becoming known, Whites and negroes flocked 



THE LEASING SYSTEM 



165 



to Indian Territory with the idea prominent that they were going to be 
permitted to homestead the surplus land, as had been the custom in break- 
ing up Indian reservations. With the opening of the Cherokee strip, the 
Cheyenne and Arapaho and the Iowa and Comanche reservations on the 
west, comprising all of the western half of Oklahoma, immigrants flocked 
to these openings. Some of the best of them remained as farmers in that 
great western country. The riff-raff, after exploiting those western and 
northern reservations, came back to Indian Territory to ply their vocations 
at the various allotting agencies among the Five Civilized Tribes. 

By 1903 all kinds of land, livestock and timber companies were at work; 
skillful lawyers schemed to change the laws. More than one Indian, dis- 
gusted with the "Christian" white man, stayed in the Choctaw hills among 
the pine forests and refused to come out and perform the duties necessary 
under the laws made for him in order that he might receive his allotment. 
Each man, woman and child was to receive $1040 worth of land, appraised 
at from twenty -five cents to $6.50 per acre; also 320 acres of average land. 
He was supposed to look it over, and being satisfied with it, come to the 
land office and file his "descriptions" with an affidavit that he owned 
such improvements, if any there were, and the possessary right to the 
land selected. He could not be induced to come. It cost money to go 
200 miles over into the Chickasaw Nation, or even to find suitable land 
in the Choctaw Nation. 

Under the allotment act the members of the tribes were given the 
right to alienate one-half their lands within five years from date of patents. 
The more ignorant classes were more easily influenced, and runners were 
employed to go over in the Choctaw Nation and "shell the woods" for 
Indians. Sufficient quantities of whiskey, an interpreter, and expense 
money were all that was necessary. Indians were brought into the allotting 
agencies by the score. He was taken out in a conveyance and driven a 
few miles from the agency and shown the best improved farm in the country, 
a deal made with him to lease the land for five years in consideration of 
the purchase of the possessary right to the land. His plans were prepared 
for him. His allotment known as surplus which would be alienable within 
five years, was plotted upon improved lands which he had never seen and 
the balance of his land known as homestead selected for him in some out 
of the way place, generally upon the hills. To this day most of these full- 
blood Indians have never seen nor set foot upon their several allotments. 

A case or two illustrating Choctaw and Chickasaw affairs is illuminat- 
ing of general conditions. Addie B. Fasler was a minor full -blood Indian 
about twelve years of age in 1907, and a certain man was made guardian 



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for her. Under a new act of Congress an additional judge had been ap- 
pointed in the southern district, Judge J. T. Dickenson, and he had 
been assigned the northern half of the district by agreement between 
himself and the other judge. This application was presented to him for 
approval. Judge Dickenson refused to appoint the one requested, but 
upon his own motion selected a man by the name of Wright living at 
Sulphur. Up to this time such independence on the part of the judiciary 
was unusual and war from this time on existed between the old and the 
new judge. Wright found his ward in squalor. He found that she owned, 
by reason of the death of her family, four allotments besides her own — 
that they consisted of something like a thousand acres of improved land, 
the larger part in cultivation; that all of this land had been in the pos- 
session of a Mr. Mullen since allotment, and was at that time being rented 
out by Mr. Mullen for an average rental of $2.50 per acre per year. Mr. 
Wright employed attorneys and began proceedings to recover these lands 
for his ward. He was met at the hearing by a subsequently appointed 
guardian from the central district who had been appointed at the instance 
of Mullen. The hearing was had before the old judge who promptly held 
that the domicile of the minor was in the central district and that the 
United States Court for the southern district had no jurisdiction to appoint 
Mr. Wright guardian. What has become of Addie B. Fasler or her vast 
estates? She is one of the many now "unknown" since her property is 
gone. 

After statehood, the Chocktaw and Chickasaw Nations were cut up 
into many counties and probate matters transferred to the County Courts 
of the counties which included the court towns. Provisions were made 
to transfer probate cases to the county which would have had jurisdiction 
had such case been inaugurated after statehood. 

Little effort has been made to transfer these cases, because the Indians 
themselves are ignorant of the fact that administrators and guardians 
have been appointed elsewhere and only in those instances where the 
grafter wants to sell or lease the land is any pretense made to have every- 
thing regular. This condition has resulted in the appointment of guardians 
in the counties of the residence of the minors to recover lands and rentals. 
Much litigation has grown out of these conflicts, and it is safe to say 
that in very few instances have the grafters surrendered to the Indian 
lands allotted to him. 

Charles McKinney is an ignorant, easy-going quarter-blood Chicka- 
saw with four or five minor children. Their lands were scattered in Poulatre, 
Johnson, Marshall and Carter Counties. He was their guardian. He sold 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



these various allotments through the County Court of County 

and received something like $7000. The mayor of the city was on his bond. 
A certain judge, the mayor and several other politicians decided to buy 
a local newspaper which was too independent for the good of the party. 
This money was loaned to the mayor, who gave as security a mortgage 
upon several tracts of land which he did not own, and used the money 
in the purchase of the newspaper plant; the latter became insolvent and 
was sold by its creditors, and the guardian squandered the balance of the 
money. 

The Mississippi Choctaws are Indians of a low order of intelligence. 
They were imported into this country in 1902 and 1903 by land com- 
panies, among which was the Choctaw Investment Company, now de- 
funct, and J. E. Arnold. They were herded in barracks around Ardmore 
and other places during 1902, 1903 and 1904; the smallpox broke out 
among them and they died like sheep. Before they left Mississippi, con- 
tracts were made with them in which they agreed to prove up on their 
lands and sell them to the promoters. 

The stockholders of the Chocktaw Investment Company and other 
non-residents furnished the money and have stood the loss, but J. E. 
Arnold and Senator Owen are now pressing before the Court of Claims 
large accounts for allowance. To secure these claims if allowed, J. E. 
Arnold has filed a lien upon almost every allotment of a Mississippi Choctaw 
in these two nations. Congress has recognized these claims by permitting 
them to be litigated. 

Recommendations 

Except a few persons, everybody agrees that affairs in Oklahoma are 
in a bad shape. The Indian Office is doing all that it can through Mr. Sells' 
attorneys to bring about desired reforms and protection, but it is ex- 
ceedingly slow work. We must adopt Miss Barnard's plan if we desire to 
save the remaining Indian peoples in Oklahoma. That is, briefly, to arouse 
the conscience in hundreds of thousands of good citizens in Oklahoma 
and persuade them to take a firm stand against further despoilation of 
Indians. The grafters, through their newspapers, have exerted an influence 
out of all proportion to their strength. They have dominated in Oklahoma. 
They have even subsidized. One of the newspapers which attacked Hon. 
George Vaux, Jr., and afterwards was very bitter toward Mr. Mott and 
myself, received thousands of dollars from an Indian minor child's estate. 
This money was used to boom a political journal. 

All who would save the Indian must stimulate the better class of 
citizens into action. Attacking grafters, is not bringing into discredit 



168 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



the good name of a great State. I mention this because the grafters raise 
the cry of State persecution. They do not, however, deny the pauperizing 
of Indians, or the 30,000 specific cases of fraud. Miss Barnard well answers 
critics with the statement that we are merely attacking forces of evil. 
The people of Oklahoma themselves can solve the problem promptly and 
satisfactorily, if they will assert their rights. All the protection and pub- 
licity, and legal procedures in the world will not save the Oklahoma In- 
dians, if the better class of citizens (the great majority) do not take a firm 
stand for right and justice. The ministers, Miss Barnard claims, are 
already beginning to preach sermons against graft — all of which indicates 
a trend of healthy public opinion. 

Mr. Foreman, who has worked along the same lines as Department of 
Justice officials, Miss Barnard and Mr. Kelsey, and has been associated with 
Mr. Mott, takes a rather gloomy view. I present his paragraphs herewith : 

"In a few short years, Congress has removed the restrictions on the 
sale of nearly 70 per cent of the 100,000 Indians of the tribes — on all 
but the full-bloods. The inevitable has overtaken these mixed-bloods 
from whom Congress released its protecting supervision, and probably 
not one in ten of them retains even a considerable part of his original 
allotment of land. 

"The experiment of turning these mixed-blood Indians loose has been 
a lamentable mistake. But at least some good should be extracted from 
it. The lesson should be employed to emphasize the need for protection 
of the full-blood. The mixed-blood as a land owner is no more. He is 
gone and there is practically nothing to be done for his class except in the 
protection of his minor children. 

"But the full-blood still has his land, for his restrictions have never 
been released. There is no obligation to these Indians so commanding as 
the duty of seeing to it that they are protected in their property ; this means 
that the restrictions against the sale of their lands must not be relaxed 
except under the supervision of the Interior Department. To permit them 
to sell their lands without this protection would expose them to their own 
inexperience and improvidence, to the cunning of the shameless horde of 
white land grafters. 

"It was claimed that at least the mixed-bloods are competent to handle 
their property, and developments have shown the fallacy of that claim. 
Many of the full-bloods are but little more fortunate. Totally unprepared 
they have had thrust upon them individual ownership of their lands. In 
1906 Congress provided that full-blood Indians might sell lands inherited 
from deceased relatives. As the rate of mortality is high among these 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



169 



people, there are many such inheritances and many such sales have been 
made. In a great number of instances they have been swindled out of 
their inheritances for a pittance. 

"Congress unwisely permitted these full-bloods to lease most of their 
land for five years without supervision. Thousands of them were induced 
by white speculators to lease their land, including their homes and little 
cultivated farms which were capable of making them comfortable. In- 
experienced in such transactions, they gave the white man their home for 
five years for little or nothing, the consideration depending on the extent 
of fraud practiced on them. The speculator in turn sublets the land to a 
renter and makes a handsome profit on the transaction. The Indian was 
then forced to move on the land of a relative, or into the hills on un- 
improved land, with practically nothing to sustain his family. In many 
cases only the first year's rent is paid the Indian and the lessee refuses to 
pay more. The Indian in his helplessness knows no remedy and suffers 
almost a total loss of the consideration agreed upon. This situation is 
particularly distressing in the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. 

"These leases are extended by methods which the mind of the Indian 
cannot comprehend, and once out of possession it is practically impossible 
for the Indian to get his land back. When the restrictions are removed 
from the sale of this class of land, which is looked forward to by the 
people holding them, they will make the most of their advantage over the 
Indian, by making it practically impossible for the Indian to get any other 
buyers than the lessees, who will buy on their own terms. This mean ad- 
vantage is evidenced now in another way. The Indian Department can 
sell part of the Indian's allotment for the Indian's benefit, but in many 
cases a sale for an adequate consideration is defeated by the presence of 
leases often taken by white speculators for no other purpose than to prevent 
anyone else buying the land, or to demand a heavy tribute for a surrender 
of the lease. 

"The newspapers and the court files of the eastern half of Oklahoma 
for several years have been filled with the stories of the Indians' undoing 
which explains the swift impoverishment of the mixed-blood Indian. If 
the mixed-bloods could not stand up against this condition, what chance, 
would the full-bloods have? 

"When the hardy pioneer ventured within the domain of the ab- 
original proprietors of this country he found himself among what are 
often described as "hostile" people. It is a strange caprice of fortune 
that with the coming of the white man's civilizing influence, the description 



170 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



"hostile" should be shifted from the Indian to the white man, and the 
submissive red man, remaining upon his own land, should discover him- 
self surrounded by the perils of hostile white people. Perils less bloody 
but more insidious and relentless; the thirst for blood supplanted by the 
thirst for the Indian's property; the Indian's ambush exchanged for the 
white man's ambush of intrigue and deception; conquest of the stout of 
heart and arm routed by the conquest of the pen and deceit and of the 
brain befuddled by the devastating alcohol. 

"The Indian is groping his way through the dusk of his day upon 
earth and soon he will pass from our sight and the sound of his footsteps 
will cease. As he proceeds falteringly, this shred of a great race is com- 
forted by no expressions of good will. The road is rough and the guide- 
posts are far between and hard to read. The only light that would reveal 
his path to him shines distantly but faithfully. From this light, from 
the voices and counsels of a few distant friends unselfishly striving for 
him, comes the only promise of amelioration." 

Miss Barnard's assistant, Mr. Huston, at Lake Mohonk, dictated to 
me the following two paragraphs as indicative of the essential things for 
which the Department of Charities and Corrections is fighting. It must 
be understood that the second paragraph from the end is not aimed at 
the Indian Office personnel. It is merely a statement of fact, that the 
new attorneys labor under disadvantage. 

1st. To elect a Legislature pledged to appropriate sufficient funds 
to make effective the Department of Charities and Corrections, — the 
only arm of Government, Federal or State, which is clothed with legal 
authority to intervene in the probate courts of Oklahoma on behalf of 
Indian minor heirs. 

2nd. To enact a law embodying adequate probate procedure. The 
probate procedure recently agreed to between the probate judges of Okla- 
homa and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs is substantially the same 
procedure which was prepared by M. L. Mott and put into effect in five 
out of the eight counties of the Creek Nation several years previous to the 
present administration. Mr. Mott had this procedure embodied in a bill 
which passed the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature two years ago, 
but which was defeated through the influence of grafters in the Senate. 
Mott knew that the probate procedure, depending for its force and effect 
merely upon the personal agreement of county judges elected by a con- 
stituency hostile to the Indians, would be ineffective to protect Indian 
minors, unless the same had the force of law, and provided adequate 
penalties for violation of same. 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



171 



Finally, all good citizens in the United States must rally to the support 
of those who are making a fight for simple justice and decency in Oklahoma. 
If the better element in that State is defeated by a combination of oil, 
coal, gas, timber, land, and asphalt interests, the taxpayers of this country 
will be called upon to support 100,000 homeless paupers. Nowhere else 
in the United States are 100,000 citizens to be dispossessed, and if this 
calamity is permitted to occur, the blackest page in all American history 
shall have been written. A helpless, a trusting, and a dependent people 
look to us to keep the final one of all our promises. 



PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY ON OKLAHOMA 

Lengthy discussion of Indian Affairs. Both branches of Congress. Congressional Record for 1914. Jan. 22; Feb., 
10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 16, 17, 19, 20, 26, 28; March, 10, 11, 12, 21, 26, 27, 28, 31; Apr., 24, 28, 29; May 4; also Dec. 20, 
1913. 

Detailed reviews of satisfactory conditions of Five Civilized Tribes; statistics of some; need of protection; legis- 
lation recommended. Board of Indian Commissioners reports to President and Secretary of Interior. 1869-1890. 

Letters expressing the favorable cooperation indorsing the work of, or urging the retention of District Agents 
in the Five Civilized Tribes. Washington 1912. Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs. 

Choctaw-Chickasaw Tribal Affairs. Patrick J. Hurley. Thirty-first Annual Report Lake Mohonk Conference, 
P. 29. 1913. 

Toward "Restricted" and "Unrestricted" Indians of Five Civilized Tribes, Should the Law and its Adminis- 
tration be the same? — William H. Murray. Thirty-first Annual Report Lake Mohonk Conference. P. 35. 1913. 

Memorial of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, Relative to the Rights of the Mississippi Choctaws. Sub- 
mitted for consideration in connection with H. R. 19213. 1913. 

Five Civilized Tribes, Conditions — George Vaux, Jr. The Red Man. Dec, 1912. P. 135. 

Report of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes to the Secretary of the Interior. June 30, 1912. 

The Reorganized Schools in the Five Tribes. — J. P. Brown. Twenty-eighth Annual Report Lake Mohonk Con- 
ference, 1910. P. 79. 

Report on School Taxation in Indian Territory. House of Representatives Doc. No. 34. Fifty-eighth Congress, 
3rd Session, Dec. 6, 1907. 

Education Among the Five Civilized Tribes. — J. P. Brown. Quarterly Journal of the Soc. Amer. Indians, Oct.- 
Dec, 1913. P. 416. 

Veto Message of the President of the United States, without approval Senate Bill 7978, entitled "An Act Relating 
to inherited estates in the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma." Senate Doc. 899, 62nd Congress, 2nd Session, August 
6, 1912. 

Laws and Regulations, Relating to Indians and their Lands. — Oscar H. Lipps. 1913. 

Suppressing the Liquor Traffic in Indian Territory and Oklahoma. — William E. Johnson. Twenty-fifth Report 
Lake Mohonk Conference, 1907. P. 27. 

Indian Appropriation Bill, Hearings before the Committee on Indian Affairs, U. S. Senate. Parts 1, 2, 7, and 5. 
Ending June 30, 1915. 

Hearing before Committee on Indian Affairs of the U. S. Senate. Appropriation Bill. Jan. 28 to Feb. 10, 1905. 



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Suits in Court of Claims by the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians. ''To authorize the Choctaw and Chickasaw 
Nations to bring suit in the Court of Claims and for other Purposes." Doc. No. 1010, 62nd Congress, 3rd Session. 1913. 

The Grace Cox Inheritance Case. Decision of Comm. of Indian Affairs which relates to the Determination of 
Heirs of Deceased Indians. Jan. 22, 1914. 

Letter from Dept. of Interior to Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, transmitting detailed statement 
of all expenditures and disbursements from various funds on account of the Five Civilized Tribes from 1908 to 1911 
inclusive. Senate, 62d Congress, 2d Session, June 30, 1911. 

The U. S. Government and the Indian Problem. — Hon James S. Sherman. Twenty-seventh Annual Conference 
Lake Mohonk, 1909. P. 74. 

Status and Xeeds of the Five Civilized Tribes. Thirty-first Annual Report Lake Mohonk Conference, 1913. P. 16. 

The Need of Publicity in Indian Affairs. — John M. Oskisen. Twenty-fourth Annual Report Lake Mohonk Con- 
ference, 1906. P. 38. 

Indian Territory Tribes. The Cherokees, Chapter VIII, Pp. 257-297. Indian Territory pp. 425-431. Century 
of Dishonor. — Helen Hunt Jackson. 1886. 

The Five Civilized Tribes — Why They Employ Attornevs. — Speech of Hon. William H. Murray, Congressional 
Record, Xo. 78. Vol 51. Feb. 11, 1914. 

Oklahoma Red Book, 1909-14. Oklahoma City. 

Fort Sill Indians, Report of Condition of. — William H. Ketcham, Member Board of Indian Commissioners, 
Jan. 5, 1914. 

The Shawnee Indians: Their Customs, Traditions, and Folk-lore. — Rev. Jacob Spencer. Kansas City Historical 
Society, 1907-1908. P. 382. 

Reports of the Dawes Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes. 1894-1895. 

Five Civilized Tribes. Handbook of American Indians. Vol. I. P. 463. 

Seminole. Handbook of American Indians. Vol. II. P. 500. 

Creek. Handbook of American Indians. Vol. I. P. 362. 

Choctaw. Handbook of American Indians. Vol. I. P. 288. 

Chickasaw. Handbook of American Indians. Vol. I. P. 260. 

Cherokee. Handbook of American Indians. Vol. I. P. 245. 

Sank and Fox Agency, Oklahoma. Report of the Department of the Interior. 1900. P. 348. 
Indian Territory. Fourth Annual Report of the Board of Indian Commissioners. 1872. P. 14. 
Osages. Third Annual Report of the Board of Indian Commissioners. 1871. P. 5. 

Cherokees, General Condition of the Eastern. Twenty-eighth Annual Report of the Board of Indian Commis- 
sioners. 1896. P. 13. 

Choctaws and Chickasaws. Fifth Annual Report of the Board of Indian Commissioners. 1873. P. 52. 

First to Fifth Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Charities and Corrections of the State of Oklahoma. Dec. 
10, 1908 to 1913. — Kate Barnard. 

McMurray Contracts. Hearings Before the Committee on Indian Affairs. U. S. Senate, 63rd Congress. First 
Session on H. R. 1917. pp. 338-353, 354-456. 

Our National Problem. The Sad Condition of the Oklahoma Indians. — Warren K. Moorehead. 1913. 

Kiowa Agency, Anadarko, Oklahoma. General Condition of Agency Indians. — Report of Department of the 
Interior, 1904. P. 293. 

Habits of the Indians. Kiowa Agency, Oklahoma. — - Department Interior Report, 1900. P. 332. 
Kiowa Agency, General Condition of the Indians of. — Report of the Department of the Interior, 1902. P. 287. 
Pawnee Agency, Oklahoma. — Report of the Department of the Interior, 1904. P. 302. 
Cantonment Training School, Oklahoma. — Report of the Department of the Interior, 1904. P. 283. 
Cantonment Training School, Oklahoma. — Report of the Department of the Interior, 1903. P. 252. 
Mott Report Relative to Indian Guardianships in the Probate Courts of Oklahoma. — Honorable Charles H. 
Burke. House of Representatives, Dec. 13, 1912. 



CHAPTER XVII. RED CLOUD. THE GREATEST INDIAN 

OF MODERN TIMES 

He belonged to the Oglala division of Teton Sioux. He was born at 
the forks of the Platte River and died at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, 1909. 

It is said that he counted coups — that is, he touched the bodies 
of enemies — eighty times with his coup -stick. 

The band of the Sioux to which he belonged is known as Iteshicha. 
As no comprehensive account of his life has ever been published, I intend 
to devote this entire chapter to him and his activities. He first comes 
into prominence in 1865, when the Government undertook to build a 
road from Fort Laramie, Wyoming, to the gold regions of Montana. Red 
Cloud captured a detachment of troops and held same prisoners for two 
weeks and then released them without injury. Commissioners were sent 
out from Washington that fall to treat with him, and he refused to meet 
with them.* 

Of the individuals who exerted an influence upon the various bands 
of Sioux something can be learned by a search of the records. Perhaps 
Sitting Bull and Red Cloud are more popularly known than others. Every 
plainsman worthy of the name has had an encounter at some time during 
the past with Red Cloud's warriors. Army officers stationed on the frontier 
in the '60's or '70's testify to the courage and dash of these sons of the 
Plains. The War Department records contain more frequent mention 
of Red Cloud than of any other American Indian; and the pictographic 
accounts made by the Sioux themselves upon tanned buffalo hides, many 
years ago, are filled with evidences of the prowess of this chief. 

Makh-piya-luta, or Red Cloud, has said in his pictographic history of 
his life, that he was born in the year 1822.f His parents were not prominent 
among the tribe. He calls this year "Star-passed-by-with-a-loud-noise- 
winter." The Sioux, in their winter-counts, designate each year by some 
particular or striking occurrence. For instance, in Red Cloud's winter- 
counts, or census, one winter is called " Winter-in- which-many-died-of- 
smallpox"; another, ' ' Winter- we-killed-one-hundred- white-men. " There 
are several of these winter-counts made by different chiefs in possession 
of the Government, which agree as to the naming of each year, and only 

*Handbook of American Indians, page 358. 

fGarrick Mallery, in the Fourth Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, in an illustrated article entitled 
"Pietographs of the North- American Indians," includes the Dakota winter-counts of Lone Dog, an 
aged Indian of the Yanktonai tribe of Dakotas, which covers the winters from 1800-'01 to 1876-'77. 



174 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



vary in minor details. Two of them cover a surprisingly long period of 
time, from 1800 to 1877. Both have been carefully studied by ethnologists 
and interpreters, and accurate translations prove them of special value 
to history students. 

Of the extreme youth of Red Cloud we know nothing. An old Indian, 
when asked at Pine Ridge, shrugged his shoulders and said, "All great men 
were once boys." He was trained as became a young Lakota. All Indian 
children learn to ride when extremely young. General Dodge says that, 
whether men or boys, the Plains tribes, or, as most officers call them, 
"Horse Indians," produced the finest horsemen in the world. Red Cloud 
was not a hereditary chief, but arose to distinction through merit. 

Red Cloud was about sixteen when he became a leader among the 
other boys, signalizing himself in skirmishes and battles with the Crows, 
Pawnees, and other hereditary enemies of the Sioux. The various winter- 
counts tell us that many severe engagements occurred between the Crows 
and the Sioux, and it is doubtless true that he charged and yelled, scalped 
and tortured just as energetically as his companions. 

Mr. C. W. Allen, who is well acquainted with Red Cloud, prepared a 
manuscript some years ago, before the chief's memory failed. Because 
the chief presents his version of Plains history, the work is unique and 
merits publication. Heretofore we have had only the white man's nar- 
ratives. 

Between 1840 and 1849 there were but few attacks against Whites 
on the Plains, and most of these occurred to the south, in Texas, or along 
the old Santa Fe trail. It was not until and during 1849 that extensive 
emigration set in towards California. As the wagon-trains increased, the 
hunting of the Indians was seriously interfered with. Expeditions, not 
only of United States troops but of adventurers, buffalo hunters, and 
miners, penetrated to various parts of the great West. Among these 
travelers were men who regarded an Indian no higher than a dog, and fired 
upon peaceful parties of hunting Indians without the slightest provocation. 
Wagon-trains were often in charge of men from the East who knew nothing 
whatever of Indians or their habits, and becoming insanely frightened 
at the approach of either friendly or hostile red men, opened fire without 
the slightest thought of consequences. It is therefore not surprising that 
all the Plains Indians soon assumed a hostile attitude toward any being 
with a white skin. 

I have talked with many old Indians of Pine Ridge, Red Cloud's 
home, and they have agreed that the destruction of the buffalo was the 
greatest calamity ever brought upon their race. They could forgive the 



RED CLOUD 



175 



Whites for attacking their villages, and for the disregard of treaty promises, 
and overlook the seizure of their lands, but they could not forget that 
the Americans made useless and unnecessary slaughter of that grand, 
majestic native animal, typical of the " spirit of the Plains." But few men 
appreciate what the buffalo was to the Indian. Thousands of men flocked 
west to hunt buffalo solely for their hides. Most of them were inexperienced 
and destroyed many animals before they learned how to properly prepare 
a robe for sale. The great Platte valley, the Arkansas, the Niobrara and 
other Plains rivers, were in a few years lined with millions of skeletons — 
a pitiful spectacle — wretched relics of a once noble creature. Complaints 
were made by the Indians, who depended solely upon the buffalo for exist- 
ence, to the Government at Washington, but without avail. More butchers, 
attracted by the alluring and exciting life of the hunter, flocked to the 
West. They strained every nerve to make a "record" in destroying these 
animals. To be a buffalo-hunter became popular, and a number of persons 
have since carried through life names distinguishing them from their fellows 
because of the exceeding slaughter which they made. Col. Dodge, who 
spent from 1849 to 1884 on the frontier, blames the hunters, miners, and 
cowboys for the Indian wars. This class of people regarded the rights of 
no persons, save themselves. While our Government was supposed to 
protect, it did little save send out Peace Commissions and armies in rotation. 
The lawless white men were never controlled. But the day of retribution 
was at hand. The Sioux held a great council, which was attended by the 
dissatisfied element of other bands, and decided to drive out all the whites 
found in their hunting territory. They split up into small bands, attacked 
emigrant trains, killed hunters, and at the time of the Civil War were 
carrying on a general warfare from the Black Hills to the frontiers of Texas. 

After the terrible massacre of 1862 in Minnesota* the Indians 
became bolder, and having received recruits from the bands who had 

*From the Minnesota Historical Collections, page 434, volume 9, we learn than on Sunday, August 
17, 1862, a small party of Sioux, belonging to Little Crow's band, while out ostensibly hunting and fishing 
at Acton, Meeker county, Minnesota, obtained from a white man some spirituous liquor, became in- 
toxicated, and murdered a white man and part of his family, and this act precipitated the Sioux war. 
Little Crow said that since blood had been spilled the war would have to go On, and he summoned 
warriors from Montana and what is now North and South Dakota. The war began August 18 and 
lasted about twelve days. The number of white people killed was about 500. The whole or a large part 
of some fifteen or twenty counties was fearfully desolated, and for a time almost entirely depopulated. 
In one of the engagements between the Indians and a company of regular troops, twenty- three soldiers 
were killed and about sixty wounded, and also ninety-two horses were killed. Chief Big Eagle makes 
a statement of the causes which led up to the trouble. The Whites were constantly urging the Indians 
to live like the white man. Some were willing, but others were not and could not — - the Indians were 
annoyed, and wanted to do as they pleased. "Then," he says, "some of the white men abused the 
Indian women in a certain way and disgraced them, and surely there was no excuse for that." 



RED CLOUD AND PROFESSOR MARSH 

The illustration is reproduced from a photograph in the possession of Miss Fannie 
Brown, of Andover. The date is uncertain, but supposed to be 1874 or '75 



RED CLOUD 



177 



fled from Minnesota they held up several large wagon-trains, killed or 
captured the escorts and appropriated the goods. When the news of this 
affair reached Washington, Colonels Carrington and Fetterman were 
ordered to subdue the Plains Indians, and were sent to Wyoming, where 
they established Fort Phil. Kearny on the Piney fork of the Powder River. 
Not only was this movement necessary on the part of the Government 
because of the hostility of the Sioux, but it was desired to open a road 
through the Powder River country to Virginia City and other mining 
towns in the mountains, and also to the coast. Part of the territory was 
owned by the Crows, but the Dakotas had usurped most of it as hunting- 
grounds for themselves. Several conferences between the authorities and 
the Indians were held, but as dissatisfaction among the Indians was mani- 
fest, no settlement could be effected. 44 We will lose," said they, "all our 
best hunting territory if this route is established." Red Cloud and other 
chiefs (Crazy Horse, American Horse, etc.) saw opportunity for war and 
openly urged hostilities. Clouds of warriors flocked to his standard. 
During the long and tedious struggle he won great reputation as a leader. 
General Dodge said:* "Several forts were established, but they only 
protected what was inside the palisades. A load of wood for fuel could 
not be cut outside without a conflict." 

During these troublous times Fort Laramie was the center of im- 
portance, peace conferences, Indians coming and going, troops and supplies 
arriving from the East. When Colonel Carrington and his troops left 
Laramie, June, 1866, they were constantly watched by Red Cloud, and 
a reliable report states that upon the visit of some Indians at headquarters 
the commander was informed of his movements, in detail, during the 
entire journey. With the troops was Capt. Frederick H. Brown, noted 
for his bravery and contempt of Indians, and after the establishment of 
the post he infused in Col. William J. Fetterman some of his own spirit. 
Both officers declared that a nervy White could put to flight a hundred 
Sioux. When calling one evening, Brown told Colonel Carrington's wife 
that he must have Red Cloud's scalp before he returned East, but, instead, 
Red Cloud took his scalp on the day of the Fetterman fight, December 
21, 1866. 

The warriors harassed the garrison of Fort Phil. Kearny constantly, 
killing small parties of wood-cutters. It became necessary to send out 
a guard of fifty to eighty men with every wood-train. Red Cloud drilled 
his warriors daily, seeming to possess a system of signals equally as good 

* Our Wild Indians, pp. 83, 84, by Col. H. I. Dodge. 



178 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



as those in use at the fort. Colonel Carrington, in his description of the 
events at the post, says on one occasion Red Cloud's signals covered a 
line of seven miles, and were rapidly and accurately displayed. Again, 
on December 6, a number of soldiers were killed. On the 21st the picket 
signaled that the wagon-train was surrounded, and ninety-seven men were 
sent to its relief. Afterward it was ascertained that the train was threatened 
but not attacked; in fact, the teams and escort came in safely that night. 
Red Cloud had made a feint to draw troops some distance from the post 
that he might engage them successfully. The world knows the result, 
and it is not necessary for me to enter into details here. The entire com- 
mand under Fetterman and Brown was killed, including several citizens 
accompanying it. Col. H. B. Carrington, in his official report, says: "The 
officers who fell believed that no Indian force could overwhelm that number 
of troops well held in hand." 

Red Cloud's name was heard throughout the land, and among his 
own people he arose to be supreme chief; hundreds of recruits joined his 
camp, and he was given an immense medicine dance and heralded as 
invincible. 

August % 1867, Major James Powell was attacked by a large force 
under the command of Red Cloud and Spotted Tail. In this fight Red 
Cloud and his warriors exhibited, with scarcely an exception, the greatest 
bravery ever shown by Indians in the history of the West. Unknown 
to the Indians, special wagon-beds, constructed of iron, were mounted on 
wheels by the Government blacksmiths. As soon as the attack began, 
the troops removed these from the trucks and placed them in a small 
circle, the men concealing themselves beneath. The iron was sufficiently 
heavy to stop or deflect bullets, and the men were armed with the first 
repeating rifles brought on the Plains. They were thus better equipped 
than their adversaries. Red Cloud charged no less than eight or ten times, 
frequently coming within thirty or forty feet, many of his dead falling 
less than twenty or thirty yards from the improvised fortification. The 
Indians could not understand how so small a body of men could fire with 
such rapidity. Red Cloud said to Spotted Tail, as the two sat their horses 
on a little knoll a few hundred yards distant, that he believed the Americans 
had "medicine guns," which never ceased firing. The entire force of the 
Sioux and Cheyennes was hurled against the enemy, Red Cloud's nephew 
distinguishing himself by riding among the foremost and the two chiefs 
accompanying the charge. One Indian fell near enough to touch the 
beds with his coup-stick before he died. But for the protection, the Whites 
would have been wiped out of existence, for nearly every spot on the outer 



RED CLOUD 



179 



surface of the iron as large as one's hand showed a bullet mark. An Indian 
chief told Colonel Dodge afterwards that they lost 1137 in the fight. A 
famous scout said to Major Powell that at least a thousand were struck, 
and the most conservative estimate places the number at three or four 
hundred. Not only was great bravery manifested in these charges, but 
after the battle many of the dead and wounded were recovered in spite 
of a heavy fire kept up by the troops. In the Fetterman fight Red 
Cloud had been victorious. In the Powell engagement he was badly 
defeated. 

These two fights, and the series of peace treaties held by the Indian 
Peace Commissioners August 13 to September 13, 1867, brought 
about what the Sioux desired — - the evacuation and destruction of several 
forts in favorite hunting territory, the promise of extra annuities and 
rations, and paved the way for the great Dakota treaty of 1868. 

In 1 868-' 69 Hon. William Blackmore of London, visited the Plains 
tribes and made a lasting friendship with Red Cloud. At that time Red 
Cloud scorned the "white man's road" and refused to have his photograph 
taken; but it is noteworthy that he made an exception in favor of Mr. 
Blackmore, and in the first portrait of this distinguished red man we see 
him standing side by side with the patron of the great South Kensington 
(Blackmore) museum. Why did he do this? Because he knew that the 
British treated the Indians well, and that for a century Indians in Canada 
lived unmolested, whereas just over the American border bloodshed and 
robbery were rampant. 

After the treaty Red Cloud himself went to war no more, but instead 
became distinguished as a councilman and treaty maker. He was, with 
Spotted Trail, uncompromising, and insisted upon the fulfillment of every 
condition of the later treaties. 

Sitting Bull, a shaman, had made "medicine" for most of the battles, 
and about the year 1870 came into prominence. To the Indian "medicine" 
means much. Upon going into action he places implicit confidence in the 
efficacy of his medicine first, in his own courage second. Sitting Bull, 
being very crafty, a schemer and a politician, became known as the "battle- 
medicine maker" of the Dakotas. Before the Custer fight he made several 
dozen medicine sacks, filled them with the "mystery," and hastily dis- 
tributed them among the chief warriors and sub-chiefs. After the fight 
he and his friends claimed the honor of the victory, saying that it was 
through his miraculous medicine alone that the Sioux prevailed over the 
soldiers. Sitting Bull seldom was a warrior, claimed little distinction as a 
fighter, and owes his reputation among the Whites as the leader of the 



180 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



forces on the Little Big Horn to the misdirected energy of the newspapers. 
Red Cloud was friendly with Sitting Bull, but was seldom associated with 
him either in councils or upon the field. The two present marked contrasts. 
The latter was very outspoken in his hatred of the Whites, lacked the tact 
and judgment displayed by Red Cloud in his later years, and appears 
decidedly the inferior man of the two. Sitting Bull's temper was easily 
ruffled, and even as late as 1890 (he was killed December 15, 1890) he 
persisted in open censure of Government authorities. To give an idea of 
his language, he told General Miles, upon the occasion of their first meet- 
ing, that 4 'God Almighty made me; God Almighty did not make me an 
agency Indian, and I'll fight and die fighting before any white man can 
make me an agency Indian." His prophecy was fulfilled. 

So when Red Cloud settled down upon his reservation near Fort Rob- 
inson, Sitting Bull continued to range about the Plains and in the valleys 
of the Tongue, Powder, Yellowstone and Big Horn Rivers. Some of the 
turbulent element in Red Cloud's camp joined him, but by far the greater 
portion of those who followed Sitting Bull until after the Custer fight 
were not Oglalas. In 1874-'75, when Professor Marsh of Yale, passed 
through the agency, he noted that there were some 13,000 Indians under 
the care of the authorities. He reported that the provisions issued them 
were of poor quality and insufficient, and tardily delivered. Lieutenant 
Carpenter also complained that the Indians were compelled to eat ponies, 
dogs and wolves to avoid starvation. Professor Marsh stated that the 
goods purchased by the Government, carefully and honestly delivered 
and distributed, would prevent all suffering. Eastern newspapers pub- 
lished Marsh's charges, and the "Indian ring" of politicians was defeated. 
Marsh was well received by Red Cloud, who accompanied him East. The 
two were photographed together, holding the peace-pipe in common. 
The Sioux called Professor Marsh the "Big Bone Chief," because he hunted 
fossils in the Bad Lands. And while Bills and Dicks of frontier fame 
howled about the "hostile Injuns" and engaged in frequent fights with 
the Sioux, Marsh came and went in that wild country safe. The "mur- 
derers" knew he was to be trusted! (See page 176) 



JACK RED CLOUD 
Son of the War Chief of all the Sioux. Pine Ridge, 1909. Photographed by 
W. K. Moorehead. The older Indians say Jack looks exactly 
as did his father in the early seventies 



CHAPTER XVIII. RED CLOUD'S LATER YEARS 



It is no secret that Red Cloud's ponies were looked upon as legitimate 
prey by the Whites living near the reservation. One man told me he had 
seen a bunch of cattle driven around the beef corral twice in order to figure 
in a double count, and corn and provisions had been passed twice through 
a certain building in order that some one might make just 100 per cent 
off the Indians. During the early '70's horse-stealing was carried on to a 
surprising extent, and Indian ponies were openly sold in frontier towns. 
A deputy United States marshal, who had twenty years' experience on the 
reservation of the Sioux, told me that some detectives and trailers em- 
ployed by the Government were in league with the thieves and received 
two compensations — one from the Government and the other from their 
confederates. Stolen stock was seldom recovered. The warriors, becoming 
desperate, would steal stock from some ranchman in retaliation. Another 
method of getting even was to complain to the officers at Fort Robinson, 
who would give the Sioux an escort of troops. Along the trail of the robbers 
the combined forces traveled as rapidly as possible, and, upon reaching 
any ranch or town where ponies were assembled in large numbers, the 
warriors would claim, and apparently identify as their property, a number 
of horses. Protests on the part of the Whites were of no avail, and the 
triumphant party would return with some of the stolen stock, and, perhaps, 
some which had never been on their pastures. I asked an old Indian about 
this and he said it seldom happened, but as they lost thousands of horses 
which were never recovered, and as nearly all white men living near the 
reservation were there to rob the Indians, and as every white man (whether 
he had or had not Sioux ponies on hand) would deny knowledge of the 
location of stolen stock, he thought it was fair and just to seize everything 
in sight! 

In spite of suffering, privation and thefts of every description, the 
Red Cloud tribe kept their faith. Would that white men had been as 
faithful to their treaty promises. They complained to the Great Father 
that they had been moved eight times since 1863. Exclaimed Red Cloud: 
"How can you expect us to take the white man's road when you move 
us before we have time to plant and grow corn, to clear the ground and 
raise cattle?" In 1874 the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail reservations were 
in Western Nebraska, the nearest railroad point being Sidney, on the LTnion 
Pacific. Except in spots the land was barren — absolutely worthless. 
Red Cloud said that the Whites gave it to his people because they could 



RED CLOUD'S LATER YEARS 



183 



not use it themselves. A delegation of Indians went to Washington, 
were talked to in the usual patronizing manner, flattered, promised, and 
returned to their agency. Some one suggested to the Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs to remove the Indians to the Missouri River, where some 
good soil assured corn and wheat. Red Cloud and Spotted Tail begged 
that they be not sent there, for whisky was brought up the river and sold 
to their young men, to the injury of the entire tribe. Being assured that 
their supplies had all been sent to the old Ponca reservation, they con- 
sented to go there provided they would be sent to a new reservation in 
the spring. 

I can best describe what ensued by use of Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson's 
words:* "In the spring no orders came for the removal. March passed, 
April passed — no orders. The chiefs sent word to their friend, General 
Crook, who replied to them with messages sent by swift runner, begging 
them not to break away, but to wait a little longer. Finally, in May, the 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs went himself to hold a council with them. 
When he rose to speak, Chief Spotted Tail sprang up, walked toward 
him, waving in his hand the paper containing the promise of the Govern- 
ment to return them to White Clay creek, and exclaimed: 'All the men 
who come from Washington are liars, and the bald-headed ones are the 
worst of all ! I don't want to hear one word from you — you are a bald- 
headed old liar! You have but one thing to do here, and that is to give 
an order for us to return to White Clay Creek. Here are your written 
words, and if you don't give this order, and everything here is not on 
wheels inside of ten days, I'll order my young men to tear down and burn 
everything in this part of the country ! I don't want to hear anything more 
from you, and I've got nothing more to say to you,' and he turned his back 
on the Commissioner and walked away. Such language would not have 
been borne from unarmed and helpless Indians; but when it came from 
a chief with 4000 armed warriors at his back, it was another affair altogether. 
The order was written. In less than ten days everything was 'on wheels' 
and the whole body of these Sioux on the move to the country they had 
indicated, and the Secretary of the Interior says, naively, in his report: 
4 The Indians were found to be quite determined to move westward, and 
the promise of the Government in that respect was faithfully kept'." 
It had been decided in council that Spotted Tail would do the talking, 
while Red Cloud and his followers held themselves in readiness for any 
emergency which might arise. 



*Mrs. Jackson's "Century of Dishonor," page 183. 



184 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Crazy Horse as war chief, and Sitting Bull as the most prominent 
of the shamans, engage our attention during 187o-'76. A continual warfare 
was kept up against the ^VYhites. Gold was discovered in the Black Hills, 
and settlers and miners flocked into the new territory, committing en route 
depredations against the Sioux. They promptly retaliated, and our 
Government sent General Custer to remove the miners from the new 
gold-fields, and history records that he successfully scattered the obnoxious 
invaders. During his famous march not one shot was fired at Indians. 
Red Cloud had kept his treaty promise, but peace was not long to be 
maintained. The frontier towns began to fill up with outcasts of civil- 
ization. Breeders of mischief, they instilled into the minds of the Oglalas 
love of gain. "You should have more money, more rations," said they. 
"These lands to the north (Black Hills) are full of valuable mines which 
are yours. Drive out the miners and we will show you how to develop 
the country." Custer had returned from his expedition and the miners 
flocked back to the gulches about Deadwood. Buffalo-hunters were 
fast destroying the great north and south herds, and Red Cloud beheld 
the encroachments with a heavy heart. The death-knell of his people's 
freedom and prosperity on the Plains was sounded in the noise of the 
train, the blast in the mine, and the hum in the town. Civilization was 
advancing, savagery must die! He could not go to war himself, he must 
look after his people on the reservations; but he sent many of his best 
warriors to join Crazy Horse and American Horse. Murders and rob- 
beries followed in rapid succession. Custer was ordered to the Little Big 
Horn to destroy the villages of the hostiles. 

As to the battle which followed, the Bureau of Ethnology Report, 
1888-'89, gives a series of pictographic paintings made by Chief Red Horse, 
which are considered the most accurate we possess of the Sioux side of 
that unfortunate affair. I can only refer to it briefly. People digging 
wild turnips saw a cloud of dust in the distance. Supposing it to be made 
by a herd of buffalo, they informed the end of the village (scattered for 
three miles along the river) nearest them. Before any persons were armed 
a runner came up in great excitement and said, "Soldiers are coming." 
There was no time to hold a council. The chiefs shouted their orders. 
At first it seemed as if the whites would take the whole village, but as war- 
riors hastened up from the main body of the camp, the flanks as well as the 
front were attacked, and the troops forced across the river. Red Horse says 
there were two men with long yellow hair. One wore a buckskin coat. 

Captain French was the bravest man the Sioux ever fought. Red 
Horse says he repeatedly covered the retreat of his men. Finally the 



RED CLOUD'S LATER YEARS 



185 



soldiers gained the top of the hill and began to throw up little earthworks, 
but were all killed. Red Horse said some of the soldiers became demoralized 
and begged the Sioux to take them prisoners but not to kill them. 

At Pine Ridge agency I was told that Flat Hip, an Uncapapa Sioux, 
claimed to have killed Custer. Flat Hip died of consumption a few years 
after the battle. No one knew positively as to Custer's manner of death, 
but two men, dressed alike, were noticed for their bravery. Oglalas at 
Pine Ridge said Sitting Bull was not in the fight, but made medicine while 
it was in progress. Eastman's account is probably more correct. 

Many Sioux surrendered after the summer of 1876, and were returned 
to their respective agencies. Sitting Bull and his most faithful followers 
fled to Canada, where he remained some time. General MacKenzie took 
nearly all of Red Cloud's horses shortly after the Custer battle, thus ef- 
fectively preventing further hostilities. 

September 3, 1877, a soldier ran a bayonet into Crazy Horse while 
the latter was confined as a prisoner of war in the guard-house of Fort 
Robinson. The murder occasioned much talk among the Sioux, and, 
but for the interference of Red Cloud, who counseled peace, would have 
resulted in a war of revenge. Crazy Horse was a desperate but withal, 
a brave Indian. 

During the latter part of 1876 and 1877, Red Cloud gave General 
Crook a party of young men to help him fight the Cheyennes, which was 
greatly to his credit, considering his treatment at the hands of the Whites. 

After the removal of his people to Pine Ridge agency he was some- 
what dissatisfied because of the poor land given him as a reservation. He 
also appealed to Washington for reimbursement for the ponies stolen by 
lawless men. There are voluminous reports, Congressional and Interior 
Department, filled with speeches of Red Cloud and his people, and ail 
more or less pathetic. They ask for fulfillment of treaty stipulations, for 
money due, and for cattle and goods. At the time of the visit of the Con- 
gressional Committee in 1883 he had 8000 people under him. The flag from 
Fort Robinson agency was there, and, by the way, there is an incident 
regarding that flag. Their Agent had cut and hauled a long pole, upon 
which he proposed to raise a flag. Red Cloud said he wanted no flag over 
his reservation, and so his men cut to pieces the flagstaff, but the Agent 
saved the colors and sent them to Pine Ridge. 

Red Cloud last achieved prominence in the Messiah craze of 1890.* 
Whether he believed in the coming of an Indian Savior is uncertain, but 
I know that he used his influence to preserve peace. 



Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report 1890, page 49; 1891, pages 125, 410. 



186 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



When the news of the Wounded Knee massacre reached Pine Ridge, a 
few miles distant, most of the friendlies "stampeded," tore down their 
lodges and fled north. Red Cloud and his daughter and son, in spite of 
protests, were compelled to accompany them. Jack Red Cloud, his son, 
smuggled him out of camp, and his daughter led him eighteen miles through 
a severe blizzard, back to Pine Ridge. I mention this incident to show 
the faithfulness of the man. 

Red Cloud was nearly blind and aged rapidly after 1890. Eighty- 
seven years is a long time for an Indian to live. Continual exposure, 
uncertain food supply, and frail habitation, break down the constitution, 
and one rarely sees an Indian more than sixty years of age. During the 
last years of his life Red Cloud enjoyed the comforts of a two-story frame- 
house. It was given him by the Government as a special mark of honor. 
During the presence of the troops he kept a little American flag and a white 
peace flag constantly floating above it. He bemoaned the fate of his race, 
and from his conversation one could easily discern that he had done his duty, 
had defended the claims of the Dakotas in adversity as in prosperity. 
Over twenty years ago I had several conversations with him through 
the interpreter. He dw T elt upon the happy "buffalo days", and the free 
life of the Plains sixty years ago. We stepped outside the house and he 
told me to look about over the valley, for his eyes were dim; but he knew 
its character. I cannot give the exact words of his speech, but it was 
somewhat as follows: "You see this barren waste. We have a little land 
along the creek which affords good grazing, but we must use some of it 
for corn and wheat. There are other creeks which have bottoms like 
this, but most of the land is poor and worthless. Think of it! I, who 
used to own rich soil in a well-watered country so extensive that I could 
not ride through it in a week on my fastest pony, am put down here ! Why, 
I have to go five miles for wood for my fire. Washington took our lands 
and promised to feed and support us. Now I, who used to control 5000 
warriors, must tell Washington when I am hungry. I must beg for that 
which I own. If I beg hard, they put me in the guard-house. We have 
trouble. Our girls are getting bad. Coughing sickness every winter 
(consumption) carries away our best people. My heart is heavy, I am 
old, I cannot do much more. Young man, I wish there was some one to 
help my poor people when I am gone." 

It is a singular anomaly that the character of an Indian should not 
be gauged by the same standards employed in measuring the virtues and 
worth of a white man. To my mind Red Cloud's high character places 
him on an equality with prominent men of America, irrespective of color. 



RED CLOUD'S LATER YEARS 



187 



In considering the Indian, while most persons recognize the disadvan- 
tages under which he has labored, yet I am persuaded that very few realize 
the great, almost overwhelming difficulty, which must be overcome before 
a truly strong and high character can be developed. With but few excep- 
tions, nearly every white man who went on the frontier as a scout, miner, 
trader, hunter or explorer, exhibited the worst side of his character when 
among Indians. It is natural that when a man is in a new and wild country, 
far from restraint, untrammeled by laws, unchecked by society or the 
refining influence of women, all that is bad in him comes to the surface. 
Many men died in defense of a woman or child, underwent great hardship 
to succor a comrade in danger, exhibited personal bravery in the defense 
of claims, wagon-trains, ranches, etc., but, admitting all this in their 
favor, most of them were destitute of a regard for the rights of Indians. 
Such men inspired hatred in their dealings with the Sioux. 

The Indian became acquainted with all that was bad, and saw but 
little of the real good of civilization. He heard more oaths than prayers, 
saw more saloons than churches or schools. The men whom he met were 
not calculated, by their acts, to inspire him with any confidence or respect 
for the white race. If the Plains tribes had associated with a better class of 
citizens before they had learned the vices of civilization, I am satisfied that 
the historian would not be compelled to write so dark and tragic a narrative; 
nor would he feel constrained to hold them up as fit subjects for pity and 
compassion. 

Considering that Red Cloud came in contact with a class of white men 
whose presence would not be tolerated in a respectable community; his 
high character, his forbearance, his submission to the unjust acts of his 
conquerors, places him, in my opinion, among the great men of America, 
regardless of color, birth or ancestry. His career exhibits a degree of 
mental capacity, a knowledge of human nature and an acquaintance with 
the affairs of men which we would not expect in the mind of a savage. 
Red Cloud's bearing towards the Government in the Leavenworth and 
Fort Robinson treaties, in having secured his end in both instances, in- 
dicates a knowledge of diplomacy of no mean order. 

His people were suddenly confronted with a high civilization which 
they could neither understand nor follow. For centuries they had been 
schooled in the simple life of the Plains (and it ranked below the culture 
of the bronze age of man in Europe), unmolested by any extensive or 
exterminating war, content with their lot. To be suddenly brought face 
to face with a question, the issue of which was not a matter of temporary 
supremacy, but involved the very existence of themselves as a nation — 



188 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



to have bravely met it, mustered every available young man and fought 
their superior forces for a period of nearly thirty years, and then to have 
ceased only when resistance was no longer possible — presents an heroic 
spectacle. All through this stormy period, Red Cloud figures as a brave war- 
rior, dignified counselor, and staunch advocate of the welfare of his people. 

After the treaty, he and his immediate followers, or those directly 
under his control, observed their part of the agreement, although the 
white people gave them every pretext for violation. A weaker man, one 
of less character, would have taken his warriors, as Sitting Bull did, and 
have fought until there was not a man left. 

Red Cloud possessed more human kindness than any of his red con- 
temporaries. It has been affirmed that after the Fetterman fight, he 
assisted the young men in scalping and mutilating the bodies of the dead. 
There is no direct evidence as to this. Red Cloud himself says he never 
tortured a living person nor mutilated a dead body, and that those under 
his control were no more cruel than the Colorado citizens at the Sand 
Creek massacre, the soldiers in the battle of Washita, or the Seventh 
Cavalry at Wounded Knee. He cites the murder of Crazy Horse and 
several subchiefs after they had surrendered and were held as hostages in 
one of the forts. He also says that some Whites, many years ago, visited 
the camps of the Sioux under the guise of friendship, and presented the 
Indians with whiskey which contained strychnine. Nineteen who partook 
of it died in terrible agony. He claims that in all his fights and raids he 
never perpetrated cruelties like these; that he was either a staunch friend 
or a bitter enemy. 

In his later years he rather inclined towards the faith of the Catholics, 
but when younger he was reported to have said that he believed in no white 
man's God, but held to the Great Spirit, Waukantanka, and propitiated 
the evil spirit also; that, if he tried to do his duty, help his people and was 
a good man, he should not fear to meet the Great Spirit in the hereafter. 
That so far he agreed with the missionaries of different denominations, 
but because they were in discord among themselves as to just how the 
Great Spirit should be worshipped, he considered that not one of them 
was better than another; that his religion was as good as theirs, and that 
he would do as his heart prompted him. 

He has always been a little vainglorious, but not more so than other 
prominent men. His twenty years' residence at Pine Ridge exhibited a 
quiet and gentle demeanor. He ever lamented the fate of his people, but 
there was no bitterness, and his bearing was such as one might expect in 
a man who has faced death upon the field of battle. 



RED CLOUD'S LATER YEARS 



189 



After his removal to Pine Ridge, a petty Agent arrested this great 
man, on a trivial charge, and confined him in the guardhouse. Imme- 
diately his warriors armed, and a great number of Indians prepared to 
attack the agency. 

When some of the subchiefs after his release said, "Let us kill our 
women and children and fight until we are gone, that is preferable to 
starvation here on the reservation," he is reported to have made a dignified 
and manly speech, in which he maintained that the Almighty had decreed 
that they should continue on the reservation, virtually as prisoners of 
their conquerors, and resistance would only result in suffering and blood- 
shed, and could accomplish no good. 

An intelligent savage, reared upon the Plains amidst surroundings not 
calculated to develop other than the lowest desires, and possessing a primi- 
tive idea of the true type of manhood, he has presented us with a career 
which shall endure in American history long after the frontiersmen shall 
have been forgotten. 



a 



Sung by a party of Warm Spring Indians (Oregon) about 1889. A few of these Indians traveled 
in the East and gave entertainments. This song is repeated many times, rapidly. 



I have no Sioux war-dance music, but the above is the most weird 
Indian song ever brought to my attention. 



CHAPTER XIX. SITTING BULL — THE IRRECONCILABLE 



Among other prominent Indians, this man presents a stern and dra- 
matic figure. He has been praised and censured, flattered and abhorred; 
called brave by some, cowardly by others. He is an anomaly if we judge 
him by Departmental standards. More properly, he typifies the Plains 
spirit of 1840, and he was out of place in the reservation life of 1880-1890. 

He bluntly told white people they lied; he refused to accept sub- 
stitutes for solemn treaties; he met falsehoods with trickery of his own. 
He lived and died a strong, resentful man — his hand against white domina- 
tion, even as white men's hands were against him. 

Sitting Bull (Tata^ka Yotd">ka, "sitting buffalo bull") was a noted 
medicine man, or shaman, of the Sioux Indians. He belonged to the 
Tetons and was of the Hunkpapa division. According to the Handbook 
of American Indians,* he was born in 1834. He presents one of the most 
picturesque characters among all our Indians in any period of American 
history. He was called Jumping Badger as a boy and manifested a great 
deal of ability in buffalo hunting in his extreme youth. 

At the age of fourteen he accompanied his father on the warpath 
against the Crows, and counted his first coup on the enemy. His name 
(after boyhood) was Four Horn, but when he became a medicine man in 
1857, his name was changed to Sitting Bull. 

The Handbook presents a brief sketch, part of which I quote. 

"He rapidly acquired influence in his own band, being especially 
skillful in the character of peacemaker. He took an active part in the 
Plains wars of the '60's, and first became widely known to the whites in 
1866, when he led a memorable raid against Ft. Buford. Sitting Bull was 
on the warpath with his band of followers from various tribes almost 
continuously from 1869 to 1876, either raiding the frontier posts or making 
war on the Crows or the Shoshoni, especially the former. His autographic 
pictorial record in the Army Medical Museum at Washington refers chiefly 
to contests with the Crows and to horse-stealing. His refusal to go upon a 
reservation in 1876 led General Sheridan to begin against him and his 
followers the campaign which resulted in the surprise and annihilation of 
Custer's troops on Little Big Horn River, Montana, in June. During 
this battle, in which 2,500 to 3,000 Indian warriors were engaged, Sitting 
Bull was in the hills 'making medicine,' and his accurate foretelling of the 



* Handbook, Vol. II. p. 583. 



SITTING BULL 



191 



battle enabled him 4 to come out of the affair with higher honor than he 
possessed when he went into it ' (McLaughlin) . After this fight the hostiles 
separated into two parties. Sitting Bull, in command of the western party, 
was attacked by General Miles and routed; a large number of his followers 
surrendered, but the remainder of the band, including Sitting Bull himself, 
escaped to Canada, where they remained until 1881, when he surrendered 
at Ft. Buford under promise of amnesty and was confined at Ft. Randall 
until 1883. Although he had surrendered and gone upon a reservation, 
Sitting Bull continued unreconciled. It was through his influence that the 
Sioux refused to sell their lands in 1888; and it was at his camp at Standing 
Rock agency and at his invitation that Kicking Bear organized the Ghost 
dance on the reservation. The demand for his arrest was followed by an 
attempt on the part of some of his people to rescue him, during which he 
was shot and killed. (See page 121j). Although a chief by inheritance, 
it was rather Sitting Bull's success as an organizer and his later reputation 
as a sacred dreamer that brought him into prominence. According to 
McLaughlin, "his accuracy of judgment, knowledge of men, a student- 
like disposition to observe natural phenomena, and a deep insight into 
affairs among Indians and such white people as he came into contact with, 
made his stock in trade, and he made 'good medicine'. He stood well 
among his own people and was respected for his generosity, quiet dis- 
position, and steadfast adherence to Indian ideals. He had two wives 
at the time of his death (one of whom was known as Pretty Plume), and 
was the father of nine children. His eldest son was called Louis." 

This in brief is an account of his life, but it fails to give a thorough 
conception of the man. 

He is referred to in many of the War Department reports, between 
1860 and 1890. A Mr. W. F. Johnson wrote a book upon his career en- 
titled, "The Life of Sitting Bull," in 1891; Major McLaughlin has devoted 
a great deal of space to him, as has Mr. Mooney and others. 

Sitting Bull's favorite declaration which he was wont to inflict on 
peace commissions from Washington, is an index to the character of 
the man: "God Almighty made me. He never made me an agency 
Indian." 

Attuned to this strong chord, was his whole life. He was not a pleasant 
man, and he incurred the dislike of his Agent, Major McLaughlin, and 
many others. I do not agree with Major McLaughlin, that Sitting Bull 
was altogether a coward. If he had been such, we would not have found 
him associated with the hostile element in the later sixties and all through 
the seventies. Neither would he have opposed the authorities at the time 



19-2 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



of the Ghost dance. He knew that opposition must bring imprisonment, 
and probably execution, and it did. 

His boyhood, as was that of Red Cloud and other prominent Indians, 
was spent among his own people in the chase, about the village, and oc- 
casionally he accompanied war parties. 

I suppose that he was present during the Fetterman massacre in 
1869. and the fact that he is not mentioned by Colonel Carrington and 
other officers does not necessarily imply that he was absent. Carrington 
would naturally record the names of such Indians as he met. and Sitting 
Bull was not a man to seek interviews until he became, against his will, 
a reservation Indian. 

At the Custer fight he made the medicine. I have not presented an 
account of the battle of the Little Big Horn, for the reason that practically 
every other writer of modern days has mentioned it at length, and several 
have devoted chapters to the subject.* 

He made the medicine for the fight, and I have understood from the 
Sioux at Pine Ridge that Sitting Bull sat on a hill, some distance from the 
action, and went through with his incantations in plain new of many of the 
warriors. McLaughlin states that Sitting Bull and his family fled when the 
shooting began. Be that as it may. the success of the fight was attributed, 
in no small part, to the efficacy of Sitting Bull's medicine, and he became 
a great man thereafter. 

After the Custer fight the Indians separated into two parties, one 
soon surrendering to the military, and the other, under Sitting Bull, con- 
tinuing fighting. Various army officers pursued them, and Sitting Bull 
continued his flight towards the north, to escape capture. The pursuit by 
General Miles occupied some time and the Indians were continually harassed, 
and driven here and there, until finally they foimd an asylum in Canada. 
Toward the close of the seventies a Commission was appointed to visit 
him. and persuade Sitting Bull and his followers to return to this country. 
In view of the dislike on the part of our authorities toward him. it is in- 
comprehensible that they should seek his return. He was very abrupt 
in his treatment of the Commission, and publicly shook hands with Her 
Majesty's representatives and declined to return to this country. 

His later life was much embittered by his confinement at Fort Randall, 
contrary to the promise made him. 

Sitting Bull possessed a grim humor. He knew more of our ways than 
he admitted, and always availed himself of the opportunity to get the 
better of white people. McLaughlin teUs this story: — 



* Consult Writings of Doctor Eastman, Doctor Joseph K Dixon, Major James McLaughlin, Mrs. 
George A. Custer, Colonel Richard L Dodge, etc. 



SITTING BULL 



193 



"He was not a nice character, Sitting Bull; he took what looked 
good to him, whether it was a woman or property of other sort, and he 
was not in any sense typical of his people. I never heard that he had a 
love-affair, and the measure of the man was shown when Bishop Marty 
tried to induce him to put away one of his wives. He went to see the 
Bishop, who was visiting the missions. The Bishop pointed out to him 
the evil of his ways, and the bad influence he exerted among the people, 
finally asking him if he would not put away one of his wives. Sitting Bull 
was crafty. 

44 'You think that I should put away one wife and that would be 
good?' he asked. 

44 4 It would, and the woman would be taken care of. You should keep 
only your first wife.' 

44 4 But I cannot put one away; I like them both and would not like 
to treat them differently.' 

44 The Bishop admitted that it might be hard, but one should be put 
away; the second wife. 

44 4 But I could put them both away without injuring either one,' 
said Sitting Bull. 

4 4 4 You could do that,' was the reply of the good man, thinking he 
was making some headway. 

44 4 The black gown is my friend,' rejoined Sitting Bull, 4 and I will do 
this for him; I will put away both my wives, and the black gown will get 
me a white wife.' 

44 The Bishop gave him up as incorrigible, and the old chief retained 
both his wives to the end."* 

In 1883 a Congressional Commission composed of Honorable H. L. 
Dawes, John A. Logan, Angus Cameron, John T. Morgan and George G. 
Vest, visited Standing Rock agency to investigate conditions. There 
had been great discontent because of the failure of the Government to 
fulfill the stipulations set forth in the treaty of 1868 (See pages 103-104.) 
Most of the Indians, while mindful of their rights, exhibited no ill will 
toward the Government, although they were insistent that the cattle and 
goods promised them be forthcoming and were rather against the further 
division of the reservation. After the conference had been in session a day or 
two, the Chairman said to the interpreter, 44 Ask Sitting Bull if he has any- 
thing to say to the Committee." 

The Committee, having the services of excellent interpreters, we may 
assume that what followed is a literal translation of Sitting Bull's words. 



* My Friend The Indian, p. 65. 



194 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



As they are very interesting, and the mind responsible for the utterance 
of these words was the mind of an Indian who lived in the past, I reproduce 
the conversation in full. 

Sitting Bull: "Of course I will speak to you if you desire me to 
do so. I suppose it is only such men as you desire to speak who must 
say anything." 

The Chairman: "We supposed the Indians would select men to 
speak for them, but any man who desires to speak, or any man the Indians 
here desire shall talk for them we will be glad to hear if he has anything 
to say." 

Sitting Bull: "Do you not know who I am, that you speak as you 
do?" 

The Chairman: "I know that you are Sitting Bull, and if you have 
anything to say we will be glad to hear you." 

Sitting Bull: "Do you recognize me; do you know who I am?" 

The Chairman: "I know you are Sitting Bull." 

Sitting Bull: "You say you know I am Sitting Bull, but do you 
know what position I hold?" 

The Chairman: "I do not know any difference between you and 
the other Indians at this agency." 

Sitting Bull: "I am here by the will of the Great Spirit, and by his 
will I am a chief. My heart is red and sweet, and I know it is sweet, because 
whatever passes near me puts out its tongue to me;* and yet you men have 
come here to talk with us, and you say you do not know who I am. I want 
to tell you that if the Great Spirit has chosen anyone to be the chief of this 
country it is myself." 

The Chairman: "In whatever capacity you may be here today, if 
you desire to say anything to us we will listen to you; otherwise we will 
dismiss this council." 

Sitting Bull: "Yes; that is all right. You have conducted your- 
selves like men who have been drinking whiskey, and I came here to give 
you some advice." (Here Sitting Bull waved his hand, and at once the 
Indians left the room in a body).f 

A little later, some of the Indians having told Sitting Bull that he 
had treated the Committee very harshly and should apologize, he ap- 
peared and made a much longer speech. In this he asked for many things; 
he pointed out that the Whites were responsible for the destruction of the 



* That his heart was "good." He was a firm believer in signs. 
| The power of the man is here exhibited. 



SITTING BULL 



195 



buffalo — the Indians' means of sustenance. He seemed to be aware that 
his speech had caused ill feeling for his opening sentences are : — 

"I came in with a glad heart to shake hands with you, my friends, 
for I feel that I have displeased you; and I am here to apologize to you 
for my bad conduct and to take back what I said. I will take it back 
because I consider I have made your hearts bad. I heard that you were 
coming here from the Great Father's house some time before you came, 
and I have been sitting here like a prisoner waiting for some one to release 
me. I was looking for you everywhere, and I considered that when we 
talked with you it was the same as if we were talking with the Great Father; 
and I believe that what I pour out from my heart the Great Father will 
hear. What I take back is what I said to cause the people to leave the 
council, and want to apologize for leaving myself. The people acted like 
children, and I am sorry for it. I was very sorry when I found out that 
your intentions were good and entirely different from what I supposed 
they were. Now I will tell you my mind and I will tell everything straight. 
I know the Great Spirit is looking down upon me from above and will hear 
what I say, therefore I will do my best to talk straight; and I am in hopes 
that some one will listen to my wishes and help me to carry them out. 
I have always been a chief, and have been made chief of all the land. 
Thirty-two years ago I was present at councils with the white man, and at 
the time of the Fort Rice council I was on the prairie listening to it, and 
since then a great many questions have been asked me about it, and I 
always said wait; and when the Black Hills council was held, and they 
asked me to give up that land, I said they must wait. I remember well 
all the promises that were made about that land because I have thought 
a great deal about them since that time. Of course I know that the Great 
Spirit provided me with animals for my food, but I did not stay out on the 
prairie because I did not wish to accept the offers of the Great Father, 
for I sent in a great many of my people and I told them that the Great 
Father was providing for them and keeping his agreements with them, 
and I was sending the Indians word all the time I was out that they must 
remember their agreements and fulfill them, and carry them out straight. 
When the English authorities were looking for me I heard that the Great 
Father's people were looking for me too. I was not lost. I knew where I 
was going all the time. Previous to that time, when a Catholic priest 
called 'White Hair' (meaning Bishop Marty) came to see me, I told him 
all these things plainly. I meant to fulfill, and did fulfill; and when I went 
over into the British possessions he followed me, and I told him everything 
that was in my heart, and sent him back to tell the Great Father what 



196 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



I told him; and General Terry sent me word afterwards to come in, because 
he had big promises to make me. and I sent him word that I would not 
throw my country away; that I considered it all mine still, and I wanted 
him to wait just four years for me; that I had gone over there to attend 
to some business of my own, and my people were doing just as other people 
would do. If a man loses anything and goes back and looks carefully for 
it he will find it, and that is what the Indians are doing now when they 
ask you to give them the things that were promised them in the past; 
and I do not consider that they should be treated like beasts, and that is 
the reason I have grown up with the feelings I have. Whatever you wanted 
of me I have obeyed, and I have come when you called me. The Great 
Father sent me word that whatever he had against me in the past had been 
forgiven and thrown aside, and he would have nothing against me in the 
future, and I accepted his promises and came in; and he told me not to 
step aside from the white man's path, and I told him I would not, and I 
am doing my best to travel in that path. I feel that my country has 
gotten a bad name, and I want it to have a good name; it used to have a 
good name; and I sit sometimes and wonder who it is that has given it 
a bad name. You are the only people now who can give it a good name, 
and I want you to take good care of my country and respect it. When we 
sold the Black Hills we got a very small price for it, and not what we ought 
to have received. I used to think that the size of the payments would remain 
the same all the time, but they are growing smaller all the time. I want 
you to tell the Great Father everything I have said, and that we want 
some benefit from the promises he has made us ; and I don't think I should 
be tormented with anything about giving up any part of my land until 
those promises are fulfilled — I would rather wait until that time, when 
I will be ready to transact any business he may desire. I consider that 
my country takes in the Black Hills, and runs from the Powder River to 
the Missouri; and that all of this land belongs to me. Our reservation is 
not as large as we want it to be, and. I suppose the Great Father owes us 
money now for land he has taken from us in the past. You white men 
advise us to follow your ways, and therefore I talk as I do. When you have 
a piece of land, and anything trespasses on it, you catch it and keep it until 
you get damages, and I am doing the same thing now; and I want you to 
tell all this to the Great Father for me. I am looking into the future for 
the benefit of my children, and that is what I mean, when I say I want 
my country taken care of for me. My children will grow up here, and I 
am looking ahead for their benefit, and for the benefit of my children's 
children, too; and even beyond that again. I sit here and look around me 



SITTING BULL 



197 



now, and I see my people starving, and I want the Great Father to make 
an increase in the amount of food that is allowed us now, so that they may 
be able to live."* 

In Sitting Bull's speech, we have the thoughts and the desires of the 
native Indian. It is the speech of a strong man. Omitting much that 
followed, I desire to state that General Logan replied in a severe manner 
to Sitting Bull. 

There is a great deal of good advice in Logan's speech. It indicates 
the domination the authorities wished to exercise over the Indians. On 
page 82 of the report the following words occur: — "Here the inter- 
preter said that Two Bears desired to say a few words to the Committee, 
and permission was given." This would indicate that the Committee 
dominated and had the right to designate such Indians as should speak, 
or withhold permission from those who desired to talk. Most white men's 
councils are foreign to Indian methods of council. Where the white man 
sought to make of the council a one-sided affair, friction was quite certain 
to develop. 

However, the Commission did what it could for the Indians and 
made a very voluminous report to Congress. 

There were numberless peace conferences in the early days, and we 
do not lack Congressional committees at the present time, and with such 
an Indian as Sitting Bull, most any of them might have had trouble. Mc- 
Laughlin himself found Sitting Bull a pretty handful, and much of his 
dislike of the Indian is probably entirely justified. 

Sitting Bull was never an agency Indian. He lived in the past. He 
was tolerant of the white man and his ways because he was compelled 
to subsist on the bounty of the white man. His own son, Crow Foot, 
believed in his father's medicine and died with him. Truly, greater proof 
of faith could not be produced. 

If Sitting Bull had been as cowardly as McLaughlin states, he would 
rather have surrendered. Instead, he fought his way to Canada. He 
would have spent his days on the reservation, meekly accepting whatever 
the authorities wished to dole out to him. But he was the incarnation of 
the fighting spirit of the Sioux. I think that a man possessed of the ability 
of Sitting Bull, under different environment, would have become an Indian 
Bismarck. He was a man of blood and iron, and accustomed to scenes of 
bloodshed. He was unscrupulous — so was Bismarck — he tried to lead 
his followers into action; although the cause for which he fought was 



* Senate Report, No. 283, 48th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 79, 80. 82. 



198 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



well-nigh hopeless. He realized that one person cannot single-handed fight 
a regiment, yet he often fought when his support was meagre. He brooded 
over the past greatness of his people. He saw little good in the white race. 
If we are to judge Sitting Bull by our standards, we must consider him a 
"bad Indian." If we are to analyze Sitting Bull as a Sioux of the old type, 
a man who desires to have our Government fulfill its obligations, and 
having established certain Indians upon a tract of land the boundaries of 
which are definitely defined, expects them to live there and enjoy peace, 
liberty and happiness, Sitting Bull was right. Sitting Bull could not fathom 
the intricacies and the duplicity of the average white man's mind. During 
his stormy career, he had met more bad than decent white men. He had 
faith in the medicine of his fathers, and he lived and died in that faith. 
He was consistent in his belief and consistent in his hatred to the end. 

He had been dissatisfied with life at Standing Rock, where those who 
sought to cultivate the good will of the Superintendent carried stories of 
his doings. Doubtless these lost none of their force in the transmission. 
He could not dance, visit his relatives or friends at a distance, because of 
continual espionage. To a man of strong feelings this was intolerable and 
hastened the end. He believed all were against him. "They have taken 
our game, our lands, our health, and now they take our religion." Well 
might he have said these words — as did another prominent Indian. 

So he broke his peace-pipe — - deliberately. All his followers saw 
him. He had kept it since his return from Canada in 1881. But now it 
was destroyed. This was equivalent to saying to Washington, "I break 
with you." The word was carried to McLaughlin, and the police redoubled 
their watch. The end came speedily and the curtain fell upon the last 
act of Sitting Bull's life. 

A parallel between Sitting Bull and Geronimo is easily drawn. They 
were not pleasant persons. They rendered an eye for an eye and a tooth 
for a tooth, and by so doing they won more than did the leaders of the 
California, or the Chippewa bands, whose last days have been pathetic 
in the extreme. 

The times in which Sitting Bull lived, and the incidents surrounding 
him were such as will produce an unscrupulous, crafty, and cruel man. 
Yet, with all of that, we must admit that he was a great man and that the 
words of his prediction were verified — he never became a reservation 
Indian. 

After writing this chapter, the proofs were sent to my friend Dr. 
Eastman. His reply is interesting. 



SITTING BULL 



199 



Amherst, Mass., Sept. 30, 1914 

Dear Mr. Moorehead: 

I have read with interest your chapter on Sitting Bull. You are 
right in believing that he was present at the Fetterman fight. In regard 
to the Custer fight, I have carefully compared many stories of Indians 
who were there, including several of my own relatives. Sitting Bull did 
not run away, neither was he "making medicine" at the time. He was 
on the Reno side of the fight at the first, and later, when Custer appeared, 
was heard in a loud voice urging the young men to be steady, etc. Most 
certainly I agree with you that he was no coward, and do not agree with 
Major McLaughlin in his estimate of Sitting Bull's character. According 
to all my researches, he was no medicine man, but a statesman, one of the 
most far-sighted we have had, and as such I have represented him in my 
study of his career, which has not yet been published. In his early days, 
he won distinction as a warrior. After he came in from Canada, his char- 
acter was ruined by the humiliation to which he was subjected, followed 
by his exhibition all over this country and Europe by "Buffalo Bill," and 
being lionized and his photographs and autographs sold, etc. Then he was 
brought back to the agency and again humiliated, and crushed by the 
Agent until he was both spoiled and embittered. The weakest thing he 
ever did was to take up the Ghost dance craze, which led to his death. 

As to Red Cloud's warriors, it must be remembered that the number 
of Indians engaged in a fight with U. S. troops is nearly always exaggerated 
in the military reports. They have no means of counting the warriors, 
and their estimates are more than liberal, for obvious reasons. At the 
Custer fight, for example, not more than 1,400 warriors were probably 
present. 

You are welcome to use any or all of this letter in your book. I wish 
to say that I like the tone of your work very much and agree with most 
of what you say. I do not desire to idealize Sitting Bull, but what he did, 
and the conditions of the period, and the Indians' own estimate of him 
at the time, will tell their own story. It is not the story of an Indian Agent, 
or an Indian on the reservation who is very apt to say things to soothe 
the savage white man's ear for the favor he may receive. 

Yours sincerely, 

Charles A. Eastman 

(Ohiyesa) 



CHAPTER XX. EDUCATION 



Shortly after 1850, it became apparent to our authorities that edu- 
cation of Indians was the most important service that our Government 
could render them. Pursuing this policy, schools and appropriations, 
both governmental and sectarian (as well as non-sectarian) have increased 
until most of the Indians have been, or are, in school. I have referred on 
page 25 to the Honorable Commissioner's report in which there are but 
17,500 Indian children listed as out of school. 

Naturally, this tremendous activity on the part of all these good 
people, has had an effect on the entire Indian body. If there have been 
retrogressions, it is not the fault of the educational system. This should 
be understood in the beginning. 

The subject is so comprehensive that this entire volume could be 
devoted to its consideration. But we must needs confine our observations 
to two chapters. 

Between 1850 and 1875 the education of Indian children was confined 
to various missionary and philanthropic organizations. Indians could 
avail themselves of collegiate education in the East, notably at Dartmouth 
College, which was founded for the education of Indian youth. But there 
seems to have been no systematic, or persistent attempt to educate Indians 
until 1879, when Captain R. H. Pratt, U. S. A., began the education of 
Indian boys and girls. In September that year, the Carlisle barracks 
were transferred by the War Department to the Interior Department for 
Indian school purposes. By the end of October, General Pratt gathered 
together 136 Indians. The number steadily increased; in 1905 there were 
about a thousand; and at the present time the school cares for, during 
the course of a year, something like 1200 pupils. This remarkable school 
had up to 1905 admitted 5,170 Indians. Early in General Pratt's admin- 
istration, an outing system was inaugurated. Most of the boys and girls 
were placed in families of prosperous citizens of Pennsylvania, New York 
or Massachusetts during the summer months. This brought them in direct 
contact with the best elements of the white race and served a double 
purpose. It not only taught them industry and proper methods of living, 
but brought home to the youth of both sexes the vast difference between 
the life of white citizens in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, New 
Jersey or elsewhere, and the frontier element with which so many of the 
Indians had come in contact. This does not necessarily imply that all 
persons living near Indian reservations were undesirable citizens. It 



EDUCATION 



201 



means that entirely too many white persons by their example did not 
impress the Indian with any respect for the white race, and that such 
individuals set a very low standard. This feature of Indian (or white) 
life has had a tremendous effect on the Indians. Other writers have not 
emphasized its importance, and its pernicious effect. Beyond question 
the fact that the Indians came in contact with those who were not "sub- 
stantial citizens," as we understand the term, is responsible for many evils, 
and a general lack of progress, and a widespread inclination to accept 
merely the veneer of our civilization. 

General Pratt's plans, therefore, were not only sound, but of great 
benefit in the uplifting of the race. Other schools have followed the ex- 
cellent example set by Carlisle, and it is now pretty generally recognized that 
the Indian youth must be made to realize that the majority of American 
citizens are not of the type of the Indian trader, the grafter, the squaw- 
man, etc. 

The illustrations presented throughout this and the succeeding chapter 
will give an idea of the various activities followed at Carlisle, Chilocco, 
Haskell and other schools. 

General Pratt remained in charge of Carlisle for about twenty-five 
years, when he was succeeded by Major William A. Mercer, who was 
replaced a few years ago by Mr. Moses Friedman. The present superin- 
tendent in charge, Oscar H. Lipps, Esq., has had years of experience in 
the Indian Service, and is maintaining the high standard established by 
General Pratt and followed through the administrations of his successors. 

For some years there was a leaning in this school toward the higher 
education of Indians, but that policy was not carried to any extent and 
need not be referred to in detail here. It is now recognized that the schools 
and colleges of the United States afford abundant opportunity for any 
Indian who is sufficiently bright, and has the energy and determination 
to win scholastic honors. It is neitiier necessary nor advisable that the 
Government should attempt the higher education of Indians. Most of 
the successful Indians today were originally trained in Government schools, 
and such as exhibited marked ability, left what might be termed secondary 
schools and entered colleges. There occurs to me at this moment Henry 
Roe Cloud, a Sioux, who graduated from Yale a few years ago; Doctor 
Charles A. Eastman, a distinguished author and lecturer, Dartmouth; 
Charles E. Dagenett, Supervisor of Employment, United States Indian 
Service, who graduated from Eastman Business College; Arthur C. Parker, 
State Archaeologist of New York, Albany, who studied under Professor 
Putnam of Harvard; Rev. Sherman Coolidge, Arapaho, graduate of 




DR. CHARLES A. EASTMAN, SIOUX (OHIYESA) 
Educated at Dartmouth. Writer and Lecturer 



EDUCATION 



203 



Hobart College and Seabury Divinity School Dr. Carlos Montezuma, 
Apache, University of Illinois; Howard E. Gainsworth, Tuscarora, business 
expert, Princeton; Rev. Frank W. Wright, Revivalist, Choctaw, graduate 
of Union College; Doctor Olephant Wright, Choctaw, Union College; 
Miss Bee Mayes (Pe-ahm-ees-queet) , Ojibwa, educated in Boston, musician; 
Louis Shotrige, Chilkoot, Chief of his tribe, graduated from the University 
of Pennsylvania; Nicholas Longfeather, Pueblo, inventor and tree doctor, 
graduated from Syracuse; Marvin Jack, Tuscarora, horticulturalist, Cor- 
nell; Rev. Philip B. Gordon, Chippewa, priest, graduate of St. Paul's; Mrs. 
Marie L. Baldwin, Chippewa, lawyer, graduate of Washington College of 
Law; Dennison Wheelock, Oneida, lawyer, Dickinson College; Thomas 
St. Germain, Chippewa, business, Yale; John M. Oskison, Cherokee, news- 
paper business, Harvard; William F. Bourland, Chickasaw, lawyer, grad- 
uate of Berkley; Asa F. Hill, Mohaw^ minister, Denison; Francis La 
Flesche, Omaha, author; Angel Deceasa?-Deetz, Winnebago, artist; Zit- 
kal-a-sa, Sioux, writer; Elmer La Fouso, California, singer; Tscawina 
Redfeather, Creek, singer; Jeff. D. Goulett, Sioux, politician; Gabe E. Par- 
ker, Choctaw, Registrar of the Treasury, Washington; Charles D. Carter, 
Cherokee, Congressman; F. E. Parker, Seneca, business expert in New 
York City. 

These all availed themselves of advantages other than those 
afforded by the Government schools. There is no reason why many Indians 
should not occupy high positions and become distinguished citzens. I 
include Honorable Senator Robert L. Owen and one or two people serving 
in Congress, although in them the white blood predominates. My list is 
confined to those in whom Indian blood is in excess of white, with two or 
three exceptions. 

The plant at Carlisle has been extended year after year until there 
are at present fifty buildings. There are upwards of one hundred in- 
structors, clerks, and other employees. 

Carlisle produced the first newspaper printed by Indian boys. This, 
The Indian Helper, became in later years The Bed Man. The Indians 
are trained in every conceivable industry necessary to the welfare of Indian 
men and women. The following trades are taught in well-equipped build- 
ings: tailoring, carpentry, blacksmithing, wagon-making, printing, dairy- 
ing, stock-raising, general agriculture, gardening, engineering, irrigation, 
brick-laying, plumbing, etc. There is also a shoe shop, tin shop, paint 
shop, etc. 

There is instruction in music, and the Carlisle military band is a 
feature of the parades and entertainments. There is a gymnasium, and 



204 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



outdoor recreation, exercises and athletics have had a beneficial effect 
on the student body. The football and baseball teams, as well as the track 
squad, have made Carlisle a formidable rival of Harvard, the University 
of Pennsylvania, Mercersburg and numerous colleges and schools. The 
famous athlete, James Thorpe (See page 39), was trained at Carlisle and 
at the time of the Olympic games in Stockholm, was awarded first prize 
as the ranking athlete in the world. The sturdy football eleven has on 
more than one occasion been pitted against the best football material 
produced by Harvard, and the West Point eleven, during the annual fall 
contests. Apropos of these games an interesting story was told me by 
an interpreter in Minnesota. He had played on the Carlisle eleven many 
years ago. At that time most of the team was composed of Ojibwa (Chip- 
pewa) with a few Sioux and other Indians, practically all of whom under- 
stood more or less of the Ojibwa language. The signals were, of course, 
called out by numbers, but during one of the plays, the quarterback be- 
came confused. The play was misunderstood and the opponents gained. 
He became angry, dropped his numerical system and called out to the other 
players in Ojibwa what they should do. The succeeding play was a success 
and from that until the end of the game, the quarterback called out his 
signals in Indian, and the game was won. 

In all schools girls are trained in the domestic arts, and this covers 
every conceivable duty connected with home-life. Both boys and girls 
are thoroughly grounded in primary education which includes the common 
branches, and a sufficient training in the handling of moneys and accounts, 
the buying and selling of produce, and general mercantile affairs to enable 
them to cope with the white people in managing their farms. 

What is said of Carlisle is also applicable to the great Chilocco school 
in Oklahoma. Chilocco Indian School was established May 17, 1882, 
and opened January 15, 1884, with 123 pupils from Kiowa, Comanche 
and Wichita, and Cheyenne and Arapaho Agencies. 

The school is located at Chilocco, Oklahoma, and was established 
primarily for the Poncas and Pawnees and other Indians of Oklahoma, 
exclusive of the Five Civilized Tribes. However, the student body has 
for years included youth from all parts of the country, and since 1910 
restricted numbers of the Five Civilized Tribes have been admitted. W. J. 
Hadley was the first superintendent. A dozen other men held this office, 
and April, 1911, Edgar A. Allen, Esq., was appointed, and still remains. 
The school, under his management, has done excellent work. 

The maximum attendance at any one time at this school during the 
past year was 561 and the total attendance 692. Since the school was 



EDUCATION 



205 



established in 1884 it is impossible to tell how many students have 
gone through it, but it is likely that the number would not be fewer than 
5000. 

In addition to the non-reservation schools conducted by the Govern- 
ment, there is the school at Hampton, Virginia, where both colored and 
Indian youths are trained. The Hampton Normal and Agricultural 
Institute was established in 1868 by General C. S. Armstrong. After ten 
years of success in training negroes, Indians were included. Since that 
time about 1500 boys and girls have been trained at this place. It is stated 
that five-sixths of them are industrious and are a credit to the institution. 
The academic course covers four years. There are normal courses, and busi- 
ness, agriculture, and the trades. In connection with the school there is 
a stock farm of 600 acres, together with a model farm, dairy, orchards, 
poultry yards, gardens, etc. The equipment is about sixty buildings. 
The Government pays $167 a year for each of its 120 Indian pupils. There 
never has been any discrimination against the Indian on account of his 
color. This is seen in many of our Eastern institutions where Indian boys 
are received on the same footing as Whites. But there is a feeling against 
the negro — not a feeling of hostility, but a general disinclination to asso- 
ciate with him on terms of equality. That is seen in some of the schools. 
The negro is received as a student, but not as a social equal. I have always 
thought that the mixing of negroes and Indians at Hampton was unneces- 
sary. Hampton is not a Government school, but is maintained by private 
subscription and the Government pays a certain sum per pupil for Indians 
who are there educated. The system has worked satisfactorily, and Hamp- 
ton has turned out many excellent and worthy graduates. But it would 
be better, it seems to me, if the Indians and the negroes were educated in 
separate schools, just as today we do not consider it advisable to educate 
Whites and negroes in the same school. At Harvard University, colored 
students are admitted, and in the classes and through the general Univer- 
sity life, there is no discrimination made against them, and they are on an 
absolute equality with the white students. But in the real life of the 
world there is a line drawn between them, and no man or woman can blind 
himself or herself to this fact. 

The association of Indians and negroes in Oklahoma has not helped 
the Indian, and a careful study of the situation there would lead one to 
suggest that the policy be discontinued in the best interests of both the 
races. The union of the negro and the white is not to the advantage of 
either, and it is even more true of negro-Indian marriages, according to 
my way of thinking. 



206 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



It was found that the boarding-school and the non-reservation school 
did not entirely supply the needs of the Indians, and so was organized 
the day school. Mr. Leupp, who made a great improvement in the ad- 
ministration of day schools, hit the nail on the head when he stated: — 

"To me the most pathetic sight in the world is a score of little red 
children of nature coralled in a close room, and required to recite lessons 
in concert and go through the conventional daily programme of one of 
our graded common schools. The white child, born into a home that has 
a permanent building for its axis, passing most of its time within four 
solid walls, and breathing from its cradle days the atmosphere of wholesale 
discipline, is in a way prepared for the confinement and the mechanical 
processes of our system of juvenile instruction. The little Indian, on the 
other hand, is descended from a long line of ancestors who have always 
lived in the open and have never done anything in mass routine; and 
what sort of antecedents are these to fit him for the bodily restraints and 
the cut-and-dried mental exercises of his period of pupilage? Our ways 
are hard enough for him when he is pretty well grown; but in his com- 
parative babyhood — usually his condition when first captured for school 
purposes — I can conceive of nothing more trying. 

"My heart warmed toward an eminent educator who once told me 
that if he could have the training of our Indian children he would make 
his teachers spend the first two years lying on the ground in the midst of 
the little ones, and, making a play of study, convey to them from the 
natural objects right at hand certain fundamental principles of all knowl- 
edge. I dare say that this plan, just as stated, would be impracticable 
under the auspices of a Government whose purse-strings are slow to respond 
to the pull of any innovation. But I should like to see the younger classes 
in all the schools hold their exercises in the open air whenever the weather 
permits. Indeed, during the last year of my administration I established 
a few experimental schoolhouses, in regions where the climate did not 
present too serious obstacles, which had no side-walls except fly-screen 
nailed to studding, with flaps to let down on the windward sides in stormy 
weather."* 

The day schools, for the most part, are of simple construction. The 
teachers' quarters are built adjoining, or the teacher occupies the ell or 
detached cottage. There is usually attractive land large enough for a 
garden. Except in the northern reservations, the day schools are more or 
less open-air affairs. In many of them the children are provided with a 
luncheon at noon. Among the poorer Indians, the school luncheon fur- 



* The Indian and his Problem, page 126. 



EDUCATION 



207 



nished by the Government constitutes the only substantial meal the Indian 
children receive. Most observers agree that boys and girls six to thirteen 
years of age should not be separated from their homes during the entire 
year. The day school surrounds the children during school hours with a 
wholesome environment and encourages them to work at home in the 
field and garden and promotes real education, culture and advancement. 

The boarding-schools on reservations were considered by Mr. Leupp 
to be an anomaly in the American educational system. He aptly states: — 

"They furnish gratuitously not only tuition, but food, clothing, 
lodging, and medical supervision during the whole period for which a pupil 
is enrolled. In other words, they are simply educational almshouses. 
Nay, though ostensibly designed to stimulate a manly spirit of independ- 
ence in their beneficiaries, their charitable phase is obtrusively pushed 
forward as an attraction, instead of wearing the brand which makes the 
almshouse so repugnant to Caucasian sentiment. Thus is fostered in the 
Indian an ignoble willingness to accept unearned privileges; from learning 
to accept them he gradually comes to demand them as a right; with the 
result that in certain parts of the West the only conception his white 
neighbors entertain of him is that of a beggar as aggressive as he is shameless. 
Was ever a worse wrong perpetrated upon a weaker by a stronger race?"* 

The boarding-schools have somewhat changed their character, and 
they are certainly reduced in numbers since Mr. Leupp 's administration. 
His successor, Honorable Robert G. Valentine, recommended their re- 
striction, and the present administration has still further curtailed them. 
The day schools are far preferable, also are the non-reservation schools. 
Indians who are exceptionally bright need hot attend reservation boarding- 
schools, but will find opportunity to study under better conditions else- 
where; like Eastman at Dartmouth; Roe Cloud at Yale. 

Of Indian education at the present time there is little criticism to 
be offered. The tendency seems to be toward agricultural training with 
a sufficient grounding in primary and secondary education to enable the 
pupils to write intelligent letters, keep accounts and become familiar with 
American history, etc. This is all that need be expected of the Govern- 
ment schools, and advanced learning may be obtained in the colleges. 

While all this is true, we must record, that in the early years of Indian 
education grievous mistakes were made. These have had their effect on 
the Indian body at large. Chief among these were the contract schools 
established years ago by act of Congress. These were schools located 
either on the reservations and known as boarding schools, or at a distancev 



* Leupp, page 137. 



208 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Years ago, when the Government was pushing allotting and educating 
of Indians to the exclusion of pretty much everything else, there sprang 
up a pernicious system, which I am happy to say has been abolished. 
Schools were erected in a number of localities, and agents were sent hither 
and thither to gather Indian pupils. The Government allowed quite a 
sum of money per head for the support and education of these Indian 




CLASS IX AGRICULTURE JUDGING CORN, CHILACCO INDIAN SCHOOL 



children. I have forgotten whether it was $200 or $400 per capita, but 
it was quite a sum. One of the reasons tuberculosis and trachoma became 
so prevalent was on account of these schools and the crowding of the 
children into small quarters. The more children, the larger financial 
returns to those conducting the school. Extensive enrollments were re- 
garded with great favor at Washington and so, the system continued to 
expand until the Government officials awakened to its distressing effect. 



EDUCATION 



209 



Honorable O. H. Lipps, supervisor in charge of the United States 
Indian School, Carlisle, writes me regarding these contract schools as 
follows : — 

"Referring further to the inquiry in your former letter, I might add 
that when I took charge of the contract boarding-schools in the Five 
Civilized Tribes four years ago, I found in some of those schools conditions 
that were almost shocking. For instance, in the school near Okmulgee, 
Oklahoma, not only were two and three sleeping in one bed, but the beds 
were double-deckers and pupils were packed in almost like sardines in 
a can. The same was true in some of the other schools. It is needless to 
state, however, that this condition was immediately remedied so that 
those schools are now among the best boarding-schools we have in the 
service. The contract system was abolished and the superintendents 
are now bonded officers and under the direct supervision of the Indian 
Office." 

It is unnecessary to go into details, and we should not blame the 
authorities at Washington. The whole matter of education was largely 
an experiment; and mistakes must needs be made. 

A great deal of the tuberculosis and trachoma is, beyond question, 
due to the crowding in these schools. There is absolutely no excuse for 
such system and it is surprising that it continued as long as it did. The 
fact that children came home from these schools to die, or to become 
permanently disabled, had a deterring effect on the Government's educa- 
tional policy. It was quite natural that Indian parents did decline to 
send their children to school under such conditions. No white parent 
would send his son or daughter to a school if by so doing that child con- 
tracted disease. Yet we were expecting the Indian to cheerfully accept 
a scheme of education which we would not countenance among ourselves 
for a moment. 

I have tried to ascertain the number of children sent away to school 
who came home and died. It has been impossible to secure any reliable 
statistics. Miss Caroline W. Andrus of the Indian Record Office, Hamp- 
ton Normal and Agricultural Institute, under date of September 2d, 1914, 
writes me that : — 

"The death rate was high among our Indians for the first few years, 
but no physical examination was then required before they left their homes, 
and a good many died within a few weeks or months after they arrived. 
Homesickness probably had a good deal to do with it, but some were cer- 
tainly far gone with tuberculosis when they reached here. Any statistics we 
might get together would be for so small a number that I think they would 



210 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



be useless, particularly as we have never used large dormitories, but have 
an average of two students in a room, and therefore no over-crowding." 

In a table of statistics presented in a later chapter will be observed 
that under Question IV, "In your opinion has there been a high percent- 
age of deaths among children suffering from tuberculosis sent from schools 
to their homes the past ten years?" we addressed a great many persons, 
including teachers, and asked their opinion. Many of these can give no 
accurate information, having been recently appointed. Others think 
that the death rate has not been very high, whereas others claim that 
many Indians returned from school merely to die from consumption or 
to become blind from trachoma. It would have surprised all of us, I think, 
could statistics be compiled with any degree of accuracy. For instance, 
during the long period that Carlisle has been maintained, it would be 
illuminating to place before the public in tabulated form how many of the 
Indians are living and how many have died. Charles F. Lummis, Esq., of 
California, who has devoted a great many years to the study of Indian prob- 
lems, is of the opinion that in the early years of our educational system 
we made almost as many consumptives as educated Indians. He has 
uttered this opinion in several of his articles in past years. Be that as it 
may, at present the physicians in charge of the schools and physicians on 
the reservations are doing all humanly possible to end this evil. 

But the opposite still obtains in some quarters. We have been properly 
ambitious to keep the schools free from disease and we have promptly 
sent to their homes children who are not strong or healthy, with the result 
that disease was disseminated on the reservations. While this was good 
for the school, it was very bad for those who lived at home. 



CHAPTER XXI. WHY SOME INDIANS OBJECT TO SENDING 
CHILDREN TO SCHOOL, AND FURTHER 
COMMENTS ON EDUCATION 

There is not a white parent of intelligence, in America who would send 
children to school if in that school there was danger from disease. When 
Cornell had a small epidemic of typhoid fever, the institution was closed; 
the same is true of Milton Academy when a few pupils were taken with 
scarlet fever. Phillips Academy, at Andover, closed its doors some years 
ago when less than four per cent of the student body became affected 
with measles. Yet in past years these Indian schools have continued in 
the even tenor of their way, including among their membership children 
suffering from some form of tuberculosis or trachoma. I observed that 
with my own eyes in Minnesota in 1909. 

You cannot expect the Indian — who is just as human as we are 
ourselves — to wax enthusiastic over education when such intolerable 
conditions obtain. All the Indian knows is that the child comes home sick, 
and he having no facilities for proper treatment, unless the child's con- 
stitution is unusually strong, the child dies or is disabled. 

Right here I wish to pay a tribute to one of the leading Sioux, Chief 
White Horse. He said: "I sent my own boy to school first, as an example 
to the others. I sent my children to a nearby school until they were old 
enough, and then I was one of the first to send them to Hampton, Virginia, 
to school. They all came home and died of consumption."* 

While we all believe in education, yet I affirm that there is neither a 
man nor a woman in all America who would willingly, and gladly, send 
one child after another to a school so managed that the children contracted 
tuberculosis and died. The average white man and woman would refuse 
to send other children to such a school, after the first one had died; and 
a system of education productive of consumptives, would be indignantly 
denounced in unmeasured terms. President Lincoln wrote a beautiful 
letter to Mrs. Bixby, when she gave to her country five sons who were 
killed in battle during the Civil War. Mrs. Bixby was a white woman, 
and of some education. Lincoln's letter to her is celebrated in the United 
States. Poor old White Horse was an untutored Indian, and yet his faith 
in the white man and his ways rose to sublime heights. He deserves a 

* The Vanishing Race, page 93. 



212 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



place among the heroes of peace. In return for his simple trust, we mur- 
dered his sons and daughters. 

There has been a wide diversity of opinion among persons as to the 
wisdom of our general educational policy for Indians. This is not con- 
fined to those employed by the Interior Department, who serve as Super- 
intendents and teachers. It is more largely shared by missionaries and 
other observers. 

Many of the persons who furnished me with data for my table of 
statistics also wrote out their views at considerable length. These are 
valuable in that they are sincere; they come from men and women who 
are in direct contact with the people. We will omit all those who agree 
with our present policy. It may be summed up thus : to give the Indians 
vocational training; to ground them in the rudiments and to make of them 
farmers, mechanics, carpenters, stockmen, lumbermen, weavers, etc., 
rather than to attempt to fit so many of them for higher callings. It is 
well to consider the opinions of several persons residing in separate com- 
munities in the great West, and I herewith append their statements, but 
omit the names of the writers. 

"Allow me to make one more remark. As far as I can see, the fact 
that the condition of the Indians is not satisfactory is due largely to the 
nature of the education provided for them. I think that the education 
given them is too high and far above their condition in life. It seems to 
me to be an attempt to make them leap from the bottom to the top rung 
of the ladder of civilization without having them touch those that lie 
between. They are not yet far enough advanced in civilization and culture 
to enable them to follow successfully the higher pursuits of civilized social 
life, against which the present educational methods try to put them. Thus 
when leaving school, they are unable to compete with Whites of equal 
education, while they are unwilling and often unqualified to take up farm- 
ing or mechanics. 

Naturally they all will have to work for a living, and the proper and 
only occupation that would make them self-supporting will be farming 
or other manual labor. But having passed ten or more years at Carlisle, 
Hampton, etc., and coming home to the reservation, serious work is no 
longer to their liking. Playing and spending money for amusement is 
about the only thing they know and care for. If they get a position in the 
Indian Service, they get along as long as they are able to hold it. But the 
day they are discharged for any reason, they join the army of grumblers 
and idlers, and help to raise the howl — the Indians are cheated, robbed 
and trodden under foot. 



COMMENTS ON EDUCATION 



213 



The fact is, as long as they go to school they are coddled and furnished 
with everything, as only children of well-to-do parents are in a position 
to enjoy. Then when they are finished, so that they have to stand on 
their own feet and make their own living, they are not able to do it. What- 
ever has been used for their education is worn, then thrown away. It has 
been used to spoil and enervate them, has made honest work hateful to 
them, has certainly not fitted them for the task of earning an honest liveli- 
hood suited to their condition of life. 

"It is my opinion that a thorough eighth-grade common school edu- 
cation along with a good training in industrial and economic habits would 
bring far more satisfactory results. It would be more suited to their 
present stage in their advancement towards civilization, they would then 
more easily take to farming and other general work, and train them to be 
self-supporting. This would fill out the gap, which men have been trying 
to bridge over by forcing an intellectual education upon semi-barbaric 
Indian children. This is, however, not saying that a higher education 
should be denied to those that show inclination, talent and character for 
advancement." 

Correspondent, Keshena, Wisconsin 

"The white people will not allow the Indian children to go to the 
country schools. The Indians in some places have no schools for their 
own children, and are left without any opportunity to give their children 
the ordinary, elementary education of a grammar school. In two places 
under our care here the circumstances are as stated above. 

"What the Indians want is a public Government school. If you 
have any influence and can rouse the Government to action in this 
matter, I wish you would use your influence. You would be doing a good 
work. 

"The Indian children do better when educated near home. The 
children want to remain near home; and the parents also like to have 
them at home." 

Correspondent, Ukiah, California 

The next letter is from a full-blood Indian. Some of the sentences 
are a trifle ambiguous. I know the man to be one who labors under dis- 
advantages. He is doing a good work among his more ignorant fellows. 

"Any Superintendent will say that, let a discovery of oil be made upon 
any child's land and that boy or girl rises in distinction, develops relatives, 



214 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



friends, and a fond guardian at an alarming rate. Then one of the first 
moves, after this discovery, is to take the child from school. They can't 
bear that the searchlight of learning be turned into the black corners 
of their schemes. The situation in Oklahoma is indeed alarming! I be- 
lieve there are more lawyers and land men in Eufaula than in any other 
little town outside the State, in the United States, and we know they have 
acquired and are acquiring, fortunes at the expense of the benighted Indian 
and his allotments. 

"In time the 'benighted Indian' will be spoken of in the past tense. 
The rich Indian in this locality is truly an object of pity. The weight of 
his fortune, the world of uncertainty, indecision and fear in which he 
lives, is pitiable indeed. If the Indian is sagacious at all, it has to be brought 
out by the slow process of education and this ' drawing out ' process is worse 
than the 'pouring in'. Eternal vigilance and a world of patience, all 
tempered with common sense and good judgment, are the tools with which 
to work against this grafting, and schools, schools. These institutions 
should be continued indefinitely. As an illustration to the fact that the 
Creek tribe is waking to the possibilities these schools afford — our capacity 
is 125 and I venture to say we could have enrolled 300. It was pitiful to 
turn them away, yet our files were closed early in August!" 

Correspondent, Eufaula, Oklahoma 

"Those educated away from the reservation have too much done 
for them to make life a pleasure — they learn and see the easy side of 
life and the methods by which it can be obtained easily — but when they 
return home the picture is not so alluring, and when they find that they 
must depend upon themselves they also realize that they did not learn 
how to depend upon themselves, and they as a rule give up and go 
back to the old Indian life more or less, and in the majority of cases 
altogether. 

"In my opinion Indian Agents should have full control of their Agencies 
and Indians in order to push their people to the front. Indians like men who 
can do things, but in so many cases the Agent must go to higher authority 
and this delay has a bad effect in most cases. The Agent should be strictly 
responsible to the Commissioner for his action — there should be frequent 
and searching inspections of his work and if it is found wanting, he should 
be removed." 

Correspondent, Anadarko, Oklahoma 



COMMENTS ON EDUCATION 



215 



One correspondent living in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, writes at length 
concerning the immorality in Indian schools ten years ago. Happily, 
such things are not possible at the present time. A number of correspond- 
ents have referred to most distressing moral conditions (in past years) 
in certain schools. It is incomprehensible that such conditions should 
have been permitted to obtain. The effect on the children was exceed- 
ingly bad, as it is impossible to keep such things a secret, especially in 
communities where two or three hundred persons are assembled together. 



There are statistics available on this unpleasant subject, although I shall 
not refer to them. Suffice it to say that because immorality was not pre- 
vented in past years, we cannot expect a high moral tone among all Indians. 
Too many of them have profited to their own detriment, by the bad ex- 
ample set them. 

While these are varied and present a diversity of opinion as to detail, 
they strike at the greater evil. Far too many of our Indians on returning 
from such schools as Carlisle are inclined to look for clerkships or occu- 
pations in towns, and are not willing to perform tasks requiring hard 




IMPROVED INDIAN HOME IN THE SOUTHWEST 



216 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



labor. They moved along the paths of least resistance. This does not 
apply to all, but quite a number of them, which gives rise to the popular 
conception that educated Indians will not work. There is also another 
problem to be considered. The Indian comes home and he finds that he 
does not regard the community and people as he did previous to his edu- 
cation. His case may be compared with the son of a small farmer in one 
of the eastern states, who, given advantages of a higher education, comes 
home without determining in his own mind what he shall do and is dis- 
satisfied with his surroundings. Formerly, the farm, the home life and 
the neighborhood did not appear to him to bespeak a small and narrow 
world. He feels himself out of his environment. He becomes dissatisfied. 
Such young white men become failures in life. It is similar with the Indians. 
He has seen all that is best in the East, and his eyes are opened to the 
poverty and the dull monotony of reservation, or Indian community life. 
Unless he is willing to put his hand to the plow and work for his living, 
he is pretty apt to fall into ways of idleness, to draw inheritance money, 
or annuity, or sell a piece of land. One of the problems in Indian education 
is to overcome this. It is, to a great extent, due to the Indian himself, as 
one of the most competent workers in the United States Indian Service 
has pointed out. Mrs. Elsie E. Newton in answering my circular at length 
says : — 

"For success in their home environment, the Indian educated at or 
near home is better qualified, if the training has been good in itself. If 
highly trained away from home, it is more difficult, just as in the case 
of Whites, to adapt themselves to home environment, the conservatism 
of the old and a difficult economic state, or to struggle against such con- 
ditions where he should." 

In addition to all that has been said on the preceding pages, it must 
be remembered that there is yet another reason why some of the educated 
Indians do not progress as satisfactorily as we would desire. And this 
latter is, perhaps, the most significant of all. With such, it is, it seems 
to me, after due deliberation, due to the impression that after all, our 
civilization holds little for the Indian. He has lost faith in us and in our 
institutions. This statement, let me repeat, applies only to the educated 
Indians who have been trained, or have been told year upon year what to 
do and how to do it, but still persist in the old ways. This also has a direct 
bearing on the greater question, the lack of progress in the entire Indian 
body; for education, property, health, citizenship and all the rest are 
but a part of this great problem. I shall further discuss it in a subsequent 
chapter. 



COMMENTS ON EDUCATION 



217 



In addition to the long bibliography on Indian education presented 
in the Handbook of American Indians, there are quite a number of articles, 
speeches and reports mentioned in the following brief bibliography which 
students of educational problems among Indians will do well to consult. 
These cover, in a general way, all phases of education, although in the 
general references, in the chapters on agriculture, irrigation and industries, 
there are many references which might apply to general education. 



The Carlisle Graduate and the Returned Students. — Siceni J. Nori. Twenty-ninth Annual Report of the Lake 
Mohonk Conference, 1911. P. 17. 

History and Purposes of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. — Brig.-Gen. P. H. Pratt. The Hamilton Library 
Association, 1908. 

Carlisle Indian School. Hearings before the joint Commission of the 63rd Congress of the United States to In- 
vestigate Indian Affairs. 1914. 

Education Among the Five Civilized Tribes. — J. P. Brown. Quarterly Journal of the Society of American Indians. 
Oct.-Dec, 1913. P. 416. 

Educating Indians for Citizenship. — John Francis, Jr., Chief of the Education Division of the Indian Bureau, 
The Red Man. June, 1914. P. 430. 

Education of Indians. Handbook of American Indians, p. 414. A lengthy account of educational activities, 
and full bibliography of publications dealing with Indian training. 

Indian School, Chilocca, Oklahoma, Some History and Work of the. — Indian School Journal, June, 1914. pp. 791 
and 553. 

Indian Day School. Purpose and Results. Table giving location, capacity, enrolment, and average attendance 
of Government day schools during fiscal year ended June 30, 1904. — Report of the Department of the Interior, 1904 
P. 41. 

Indian Education, Interesting facts concerning. — Indian School Journal, June, 1914. P. 518. 

Indian Education, Present and Future. — H. B. Peairs. The Red Man. Feb., 1914. P. 211. 

Indian Education, Some Facts and Figures on. — Laura C. Kellogg. Quarterly Journal Society of American Indians. 
Jan.-April, 1913. P. 36. 

A Reorganized School in the Five Tribes. — Gabe E. Parker. Twenty-eighth Annual Report of the Lake Mohonk 
Conference, 1910. P. 51. 

The Reorganized Schools in the Five Tribes. — J. B. Brown. Twenty-eighth Annual Report of the Lake Mohonk 
Conference, 1910. P. 79. 

Educational Conditions in the Five Civilized Tribes. — John B. Brown, Supervisor, United States Indian Service. 
Thirty-first Annual Report of the Lake Mohonk Conference, 1913. P. 24. 

Flandreau Indian School, A Little History of the. — Indian School Journal, April, 1914. P. 356. 

The Fort McDermitt Indian Day School — Illustrated.— The Indian School Journal, March, 1914. P. 298. 

Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kanses. Table showing location, date of opening, capacity, attendance, etc., 
of non-reservation schools during fiscal year ended June 30, 1904. — Report of the Department of the Interior, 
1904. P. 39. 



218 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 

Higher Education for the Indian. — Joseph M. Burnett. Quarterly Journal of the Societj^ of American Indians. 
July-September, 1913. P. 285. 

Industrial Education for the Indian. — Charles Doxon. Twenty-fourth Annual Report of the Lake Mohonk 
Conference, 1906. P. 37. 

Educational Activities in the Indian Service. — H. B. Peairs. Twenty-ninth Annual Report of the Lake Mohonk 
Conference, 1911. P. 36. 

Mt. Pleasant Indian School, A Short History of the. — Indian School Journal, May, 1914. P. 445. 

Moral Education, Vital Interest in. — Milton Fairchild. The Indian School Journal, September, 1913. P. 7. 

Moral Education in Indian Schools. — Milton Fairchild. The Red Man. December, 1912. P. 157. 

Educating the Morals, Colonel Roosevelt on. — Indian School Journal, March, 1914. P. 310. 

Indians in Public Schools. — Peton Carter, Indian Office. The Red Man. June, 1914. P. 427. 

Report of School Taxation in Indian Territory- House of Representatives, Doc. No. 34. Fifty-eighth Congress 
3d Session, Dec. 6, 1904. 

A Segregated Indian University Unnecessary. — M. Friedman, Litt. D. The Red Man. January, 1914. P. 182 



CHAPTER XXII. THE APACHES, PAPAGO AND PUEBLO. 
THE DESERT INDIANS 

Arizona, New Mexico and southern California, together with portions 
of Nevada and Texas, were inhabited by the Yuman, Piman and Atha- 
pascan stocks. I have devoted an entire chapter to the Navaho, and shall 
confine this to the Pima, Papago, Pueblo and Apache. 

The past fifty years the population of these Indians has not varied 
to any appreciable extent. The enumeration of 1906 indicates that there 
are about as many Pimas and Apaches as at the present time, although 
the Papago have increased. 

These tribes are desert Indians, pure and simple. The Pima and the 
Papago present many characteristics in common, and remain long in the 
same locality; the chief difference being that they belong to totally distinct 
linguistic stocks. The Apaches, however, are far more nomadic in char- 
acter, not given to agriculture, and were never known to construct irrigation 
ditches to any extent, and beyond raising a few vegetables and a little 
corn on restricted tracts, were not given to labor. 

The chapter of our dealings with the Apaches is one of the bloodiest, 
considering the small number of persons engaged on each side, in American 
history. Notwithstanding much said against them, they were not beyond 
the pale of civilizing influences. Many of the outbreaks could have been 
prevented, but our policy toward these Indians was vacillating and short- 
sighted. 

Doctor F. W. Hodge of the Smithsonian Institution, long a student 
of Indians in the Southwest, presented a sketch of the Apaches in the 
Handbook of American Indians.* This covers their complete history. I 
here insert portions relating to Apache history the past sixty years. It 
will be observed that the Apaches were frequently located on reservations, 
but because of change in management, or friction, or incompetency on 
our part, they were compelled to flee, and such flights were merely to better 
their condition. 

"No group of tribes has caused greater confusion to writers, from the 
fact that the popular names of the tribes are derived from some local 
or temporary habitat, owing to their shifting propensities, or were given 
by the Spaniards on account of some tribal characteristic; hence, some 
of the common names of apparently different Apache tribes or bands are 



* Vol. I. pages 63-66. 



THE AMERICAN IXDIAX 



synonymous, or practically so: again, as employed by some writers, a name 
may include much more or much less than when employed by others. 
Although most of the Apache have been hostile since they have been known 
to history, the most serious modern outbreaks have been attributed to 
mismanagement on the part of civil authorities. The most important 
recent hostilities were those of the Chiricahua under Cochise, and later 
Victorio. who. together with 500 Mimbrenos, Mogollones. and Mescaleros, 
were assigned, about 1S?0. to the Ojo Calient e reserve in AY. X. Mex. 
Cochise, who had repeatedly refused to be confined within reservation 
limits, fled with his band, but returned in 1871, at which time 1.-200 to 
1.900 Apache were on the reservation. Complaints from neighboring 
settlers caused their removal to Tularosa. 60 m. to the X.TV., but 1.000 
fled to the Mescalero reserve on Pecos r.. while Cochise went on another 
raid. Efforts of the military agent in IS? 3 to compel the restoration of 
some stolen cattle caused the rest, numbering 700. again to decamp, but 
they were soon captured. In compliance with the wishes of the Indians, 
they were returned to Ojo Caliente in 1S?4. Soon afterward Cochise died, 
and the Indians began to show such interest in agriculture that by 1875 
there were 1.700 Apache at Ojo Caliente. and no depredations were reported. 
In the following year the Chiricahua reserve in Arizona was abolished, and 
325 of the Indians were removed to the San Carlos agency: others joined their 
kindred at Ojo Caliente. while some either remained on the mountains of 
their old reservation or fled across the Mexican border. This removal of 
Indians from their ancestral homes was in pursuance of a policy of con- 
centration. which was tested in the Chiricahua removal in Arizona. In 
April. IS??. Geronimo and other chiefs, with the remnant of the band left 
on the old reservation, and evidently the Mexican refugees, began depre- 
dations in S. Arizona and X. Chihuahua, but in May 433 were captured 
and returned to San Carlos. At the same time the policy was applied to 
the Ojo Caliente Apache of New Mexico, who were making good progress 
in civilized pursuits: but when the plan was put in action only 450 of -2.000 
Indians were found, the remainder forming into predatory bands under 
Victorio. In September 300 Chiricahua mainly of the Ojo Caliente band, 
escaped from San Carlos, but surrendered after many engagements. These 
were returned to Ojo Caliente. but they soon ran or! again. In February. 
1878, Victorio surrendered in the hope that he and his people might remain 
on their former reservation, but another attempt was made to force the 
Indians to go to San Carlos, with the same result. In June the fugitives 
again appeared at the Mescalero agency, and arrangements were at last 
made for them to settle there: but. as the local authorities found indict- 



THE DESERT INDIANS 



221 



ments against Victorio and others, charging them with murder and robbery, 
this chief, with his few immediate followers and some Mescaleros, fled 
from the reservation and resumed marauding. A call was made for an 
increased force of military, but in the skirmishes in which they were engaged 
the Chiricahua met with remarkable success, while 70 settlers were murdered 
during a single raid. Victorio was joined before April, 1880, by 350 Mescal- 
eros and Chiricahua refugees from Mexico, and the repeated raids which 
followed struck terror to the inhabitants of New Mexico, Arizona, and 
Chihuahua. On April 13, 1,000 troops arrived, and their number was later 
greatly augmented. Victorio' s band was frequently encountered by superior 
forces, and although supported during most of the time by only 250 or 
300 fighting men, this warrior usually inflicted severer punishment than 
he suffered. In these raids 200 citizens of New Mexico, and as many more 
in Mexico, were killed. At one time the band was virtually surrounded by 
a force of more than 2,000 cavalry and several hundred Indian scouts, 
but Victorio eluded capture and fled across the Mexican border, where 
he continued his bloody campaign. Pressed on both sides of the inter- 
national boundary, and at times harassed by United States and Mexican 
troops combined, Victorio finally suffered severe losses and his band became 
divided. In October, 1880, Mexican troops encountered Victorio's party, 
comprising 100 warriors, with 400 women and children, at Tres Castillos; 
the Indians were surrounded and attacked in the evening, the fight con- 
tinuing throughout the night; in the morning the ammunition of the 
Indians became exhausted, but although rapidly losing strength, the rem- 
nant refused to surrender until Victorio, who had been wounded several 
times, finally fell dead. This disaster to the Indians did not quell their 
hostility. Victorio was succeeded by Nana, who collected the divided 
force, received reinforcements from the Mescaleros and the San Carlos 
Chiricahua, and between July, 1881, and April, 1882, continued the raids 
across the border until he was again driven back in Chihuahua. While 
these hostilities were in progress in New Mexico and Chihuahua, the Chi- 
ricahua of San Carlos were striking terror to the settlements of Arizona. 
In 1880 Juh and Geronimo with 108 followers were captured and returned 
to San Carlos. In 1881 trouble arose among the White Mountain Coyoteros 
on Cibicu cr., owing to a medicine-man named Nakaidoklini, who 
pretended power to revive the dead. After paying him liberally for his 
services, his adherents awaited the resurrection until August, when Nakai- 
doklini avowed that his incantations failed because of the presence of 
Whites. Since affairs were assuming a serious aspect, the arrest of the 
prophet was ordered; he surrendered quietly, but as the troops were making 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



camp the scouts and other Indians opened fire on them. After a sharp fight 
Nakaidoklini was killed and his adherents were repulsed. Skirmishes 
continued the next day, but the troops were reinforced, and the Indians 
soon surrendered in small bands. * * * * 

"In March, 1883, Chato with twenty-six followers made a dash into 
New Mexico, murdering a dozen persons. Meanwhile the white settlers 
on the upper Gila consumed so much of the water of that stream as to 
threaten the Indian crops; then coal was discovered on the reservation, 
which brought an influx of miners, and an investigation by the Federal 
grand jury of Arizona on Oct. 24, 1882, charged the mismanagement of 
Indian affairs on San Carlos res. to local civil authorities. 




PIMA HOME, ARIZONA 
Aboriginal house type 

"Gen. G. H. Crook having been reassigned to the command, in 1882 
induced about 1,500 of the hostiles to return to the reservation and sub- 
sist by their own exertions. The others, about three-fourths of the tribe, 
refused to settle down to reservation life and repeatedly went on the war- 
path; when promptly followed by Crook they would surrender and agree , 
to peace, but would soon break their promises. To this officer had been 
assigned the task of bringing the raiding Apache to terms in cooperating 
with the Mexican troops of Sonora and Chihuahua. In May, 1883, Crook 



THE DESERT INDIANS 



223 



crossed the boundary to the headwaters of the Rio Vaqui with 50 troops 
and 163 Apache scouts; on the 13th the camp of Chato and Bonito was 
discovered and attacked with some loss to the Indians. Through two 
captives employed as emissaries, communication was soon had with the 
others, and by May 29, 354 Chiricahua had surrendered. On July 7 the 
War Department assumed police control of the San Carlos res., and on 
Sept. 1 the Apache were placed under the sole charge of Crook, who began 
to train them in the ways of civilization, with such success that in 1884 
over 4,000 tons of grain, vegetables, and fruits were harvested. In Feb., 
1885, Crook's powers were curtailed, an act that led to conflict of au- 
thority between the civil and military officers, and before matters could 
be adjusted half the Chiricahua left the reservation in May and fled to 
their favorite haunts. Troops and Apache scouts were again sent forward, 
and many skirmishes took place, but the Indians were wary and again 
Arizona and New Mexico were thrown into a state of excitement and 
dread by raids across the American border, resulting in the murder of 73 
white people and many friendly Apache. In Jan., 1886, the American camp 
under Capt. Crawford was attacked through misunderstanding by Mexican 
irregular Indian troops, resulting in Crawford's death. By the following 
March the Apache became tired of the war and asked for a parley, which 
Crook granted as formerly, but before the time for the actual surrender 
of the entire force arrived the wily Geronimo changed his mind and with 
his immediate band again fled beyond reach. * * * * 

" Being a nomadic people, the Apache practised agriculture only to 
a limited extent before their permanent establishment on reservations. 
They subsisted chiefly on the products of the chase and on roots (especially 
that of the maguey) and berries. Although fish and bear were found 
in abundance in their country they were not eaten, being tabooed as food. 
They had few arts, but the women attained high skill in making baskets. 
Their dwellings were shelters of brush, which were easily erected by the 
women and were well adapted to their arid environment and constant 
shifting. In physical appearance the Apache vary greatly, but are rather 
above the medium height. They are good talkers, are not readily de- 
ceived, and are honest in protecting property placed in their care, although 
they formerly obtained their chief support from plunder seized in their 
forays." 

Of the other Indians in the southwest there are some 3800 Yuma, 
4,000 Pima and nearly 6,000 Papago. 

These three bands occupy the lower Colorado basin. At one time 
they constructed extensive irrigation ditches and raised large crops. The 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



history of the Pimas has been set forth at length by Mrs. Jackson and 
Mr. Humphrey. 

As the country settled up, white settlers appropriated the water 
from the Gila, Salt and other streams and these Indians were much reduced. 
Many of them became paupers. The larger portion of the Papago left 
their ancient homes and located on the public domain, seeking only to be 
removed from white persons. 

As in the case of all other Indians, the Government has established 
schools, and Agents, Superintendents, physicians, and employees may be 
found wherever there are a considerable number of Indians congregated 
together. 

It became known that the very existence of the Pima and the Papago, 
as well as the Yuma, was threatened because of the changed conditions, 
the influx of Whites, and the haste on our part to make of these Indians 
citizens in the full sense of the word. Water is the very life of all desert 
Indians. With white people appropriating the bulk of it, very little was 
left for the Indians. Hence various irrigation schemes were set on foot. 
It would be very interesting to discuss how that we have improved their 
condition and made available a large acreage in some places, yet in others 
we carelessly sank wells deep into alkali-bearing ground and thus ruined 
unnumbered acres: but space forbids discussion of this subject. 

The Board of Indian Commissioners late last year, through its Chair- 
man, Honorable George Vaux, Jr., commissioned Rev. William H. Ketcham, 
Director of Catholic Missions, and Rev. Samuel A. Eliot. President of the 
Unitarian Association, and both members of our Board, to visit these 
various Indians and recommend what should be done for them. Their 
findings were published in pamphlet form, but merit wider circulation. 
I herewith append their remarks on the Papago. 

"Land. Approximately o.OOO Papago Indians are living, as they 
have lived since they were first known to history, on the public domain in 
Pima and Pinal Counties. They are an industrious and self-supporting 
people and maintain the habits of life that have been theirs for many 
generations. They know no other home than the desert and are able to 
sustain life under conditions which would be difficult, if not impossible, 
for white people. These Indians on the public domain are more or less 
nomadic, moving from two to four times each year from their farms in 
the valleys to the ranges on the foothills. They are scattered in some fifty 
or sixty small villages over a vast tract of desert and mountain country. On 
their farms, which they break out of the desert wherever water can be ob- 
tained, they raise two crops a year, in summer raising beans, peas, squashes, 



THE DESERT INDIANS 



225 



melons and corn, and in winter wheat and a little barley. Each family 
or village owns some cattle, horses and mules. Their tribal customs are 
good and the habits of family life, while exceedingly primitive, are excellent. 
The Franciscan Fathers have for some time maintained missions and a few 
schools among these nomadic Papagoes and the Presbyterian Board of 
Missions has also several chapels and schools in the chief villages. 

4 'These Papagoes on the public domain have no title whatsoever to 
the lands where they have made their homes from time immemorial 
The desert nature of their country is such that thus far they have had little 
contact with white settlers. The time is, however, fast approaching when 
the better parts of the land which they occupy will be desired by white 
settlers or prospectors. A railroad project, the Tucson-Ajo Railroad, has 
already put a survey through the Santa Rosa Valley for the purpose of 
transporting the output of the Ajo Mines in Southern Arizona to market 
and opening the country to settlement. If this project is completed it 
will mean the coming of Whites into this territory and inevitably imperil 
the continued occupation by the Indians of the irrigable lands. In order 
to preserve the rights of these people it is our judgment that a number of 
Executive Order Reservations drawn upon lines to be recommended by 
the Department of the Interior should at once be made. The reservations 
should contain the lands adjacent to the villages which are needed for 
farming and grazing purposes and sufficient sources of water supply for 
irrigation, stock and domestic use. The village sites and the water sources 
should be held in common. The allotments heretofore made to Indians 
upon the public domain should then be cancelled where actual residence 
has not been established. Any delay will greatly imperil the character 
and prospects of these self-sustaining Indians, who have never had any 
trouble with white men, and who deserve the sympathy and protection 
of the Government. 

"An almost equally urgent situation exists on the Papago Reservation 
itself. The Indian population on the reservation is mostly centered about 
the Agency at San Xavier. This is the only part of the reservation where 
there is water. The remainder is arid and uninhabitable. These Indians 
are also self-supporting and well governed by their own tribal laws and 
chiefs. Their farms are productive, wherever water can be secured, and 
they have good habits, so long as they remain beyond the evil influences 
of the neighboring city. Their continued welfare is obviously dependent 
upon the supply of water. The Tucson Farms Company has acquired 
practically all the land between the Agency and the City of Tucson, and 
is opening this land for cultivation. The Farms Company also owns the 



226 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



land bordering the reservation on the east and a considerable tract to the 
south of the reservation. There is naturally some conflict as to the water 
rights between the Farms Company and the Indians. The welfare of the 
City of Tucson can evidently be promoted by increasing the agricultural 
productiveness of the land held by the Farms Company and the plans by 
which the Farms Company hopes to encourage settlement are well-devised, 
but it must be borne in mind that the Indians, who have lived at San 
Xavier for many generations, have the prior claim upon the water supply. 
It is hoped and expected that there is in the Santa Cruz Valley enough 
water for both the Indians and the incoming white settlers, but the utmost 
vigilance will be necessary to protect the rights of the Indians to the water 
which is absolutely essential to their well-being. 

"The trust patents under which most of the Indians near the Agency 
hold their allotments will expire in the course of the next two or three 
years. The officers of the Farms Company evidently expect at that time 
to acquire title to the Indian lands together with any improvements which 
the Indians or the Indian Service may have made. It is much to be feared 
that the Indians will too readily yield to this temptation to sell their lands. 
We earnestly recommend that these trust patents be extended and the 
Indians thus protected. It appears that the lines of the original allotments 
were badly surveyed, and the present fences or boundaries of the Indian 
allotments do not conform to the survey. If. therefore, an Indian should 
sell his allotment, he will very probably be selling the land occupied by 
the homestead of another Indian. TYe recommend, therefore, that new 
allotments be made to the Papago Indians living at San Xavier, and that 
trust patents be dated from the time of the new allotment. By the adoption 
of this plan not only the lines of the allotments will be correctly adjusted, 
but also the Indians will be protected in the possession of their lands. 

"We understand there is litigation pending between the Government 
and the Tucson Farms Company in regard to the title to the Berger Ranch 
at San Xavier. The Agency offices and residence have always been located 
in the buildings of this ranch and it is obvious that the Government must 
own and control the property. The suit should be pressed to settlement 
and title established. 

"Irrigation. The plans for the irrigating of the Indian land at San 
Xavier have been well studied and the report of the Superintendent of 
Irrigation is on file at the Indian Bureau (Senate Document No. 973, 
62d Congress. 3rd Session). AYe recommend the adoption of the plan there 
suggested, but only if the trust patents can first be extended. In other 
words, it is obviously undesirable for the Government to expend a con- 



THE DESERT INDIANS 



227 



siderable sum of money for irrigating Indian lands which in the course of 
two years may become the property of the Tucson Farms Company. It 
is true that better irrigation will increase the value of the Indian lands 
and the Indians will secure more for their property than they otherwise 
would, but it is to be feared that this increase in price will simply accrue 
to the benefit of the saloon keepers at Tucson and other persons eager to 
prey upon the Indians. In order to save these self-respecting, industrious 
and peaceful Indians from demoralization and vagabondage, we earnestly 
recommend: (1) The extension of the trust patents under which they now 
hold their lands, and (2) the prompt adoption and carrying out of the 
plans by which they will obtain an adequate and reliable supply of water. 

"Schools. The Government maintains only two small day schools 
for the Papagoes, whether living on the reservation or upon the public 
domain. A few elementary schools are also maintained by the Catholic 
and Presbyterian Missions. It is not necessary for the Government to 
duplicate these schools. They cannot, however, reach more than a small 
proportion of the school population. Without further and more careful 
survey of the best centers of population, we do not wish to recommend 
the establishment of any considerable number of Government day schools. 
They will naturally be established where permanent water supplies can 
be developed. We believe, however, that provisions should at once be 
made for the opening of day schools at the villages known as Indian Oasis 
and Coyote, which are natural centers of population within the proposed 
new Executive Order Reservations. We understand that plans have already 
been formed for the establishment of the first of these schools. 

"Health. The health conditions among the Papagoes are not different 
from those on other Indian reservations. There is a great deal of tuber- 
culosis and trachoma, and there are no hospital provisions whatever. We 
earnestly recommend the establishment of field hospitals at San Xavier 
and at Indian Oasis. These hospitals should be of slight construction, 
but they are greatly needed for the welfare of the Indians. 

"Liquor. The Indians living on the Papago Reservation and on the 
public domain seem to be well protected because of their remoteness from 
white settlements, their own good habits, the vigilance of the Agency 
officers, and the influence of the missionaries. The Indians living near 
Tucson, Casa Grande or Maricopa are much more exposed to temptation 
and are too often demoralized and vicious. 

"Native Industries. It is highly desirable that the Papagoes should 
be encouraged both in the industries by which they have always sustained 
themselves and also in the arts which they practice. They are remarkably 



£28 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



successful desert cultivators. They have more to teach Whites about desert 
farming than the Whites can teach them. Nevertheless, there are certain 
methods of farming which can be brought to their attention by skilful and 
tactful Government farmers, and we commend the present activity of these 
officers. In particular the Indians can be helped in the use and conservation 
of water, and in the securing of water for domestic purposes apart from 
its use for stock. The Superintendent of Irrigation has now at his disposal 
a small appropriation which he is using to discover and develop new sources 
of water supply and in teaching the Indians to separate their own drinking- 
water from the water used for the stock. 




INDIAN BUILDINGS OF RECENT CONSTRUCTION 
On an allotment near Wewoka, Okla. 



"The Papago Indians are at present a primitive, but self-supporting 
people. The Government does very little for them. Their livelihood is 
now seriously threatened. A failure on the part of the Government to 
protect them in their land and water rights, will be most disastrous. The 
Indians will become homeless outcasts and a menace to all southern 
Arizona. There is abundant evidence to justify the conviction that 
neglect of the Papagoes at this time will result in the corruption and 



THE DESERT INDIANS 



229 



degredation of these worthy Indians, and write another chapter of dis- 
grace in the history of our dealings with our Indian wards. Now, before 
irreparable harm is done, is the time to act. An ounce of prevention now, 
will be worth pounds of cure later. To prevent the threatening abuse, 
to protect these deserving Indians and to promote their permanent wel- 
fare, it is necessary; 1st, To establish Executive Order Reservations on 
that part of the public domain where some 5000 Papagoes have always 
made their homes, and provide for their efficient administration. 2nd, 
To extend the trust patents of the Indians holding allotments at San 
Xavier and provide for the adequate irrigation of their lands. 3rd, To 
establish schools at Indian Oasis and Coyote, and hospitals at San Xavier 
and Indian Oasis." 

The Pueblos present a very interesting spectacle. Living as they do 
in a number of stone and adobe villages, carrying on a highly developed 
communistic life, practicing ceremonies the like of which does not exist 
elsewhere in America, if anywhere in the world — they have been the 
subject of numerous ethnological investigations. Mrs. Matilda Stevenson 
published a volume through the Bureau of American Ethnology relating 
to the ethnology of these strange folk. The late Frank Hamilton Cushing 
lived for years in Zuni Pueblo, was adopted, mastered the language, joined 
the secret society, and presented us with a great deal of valuable and 
technical information. After Cushing's death, Doctor J. Walter Fewkes 
spent years in studying the various Pueblos. Mr. Charles L. Owen of the 
Field Museum, Chicago, and other investigators have approached the 
subject from various angles. We have, all told, a score of books relating 
to the life and beliefs of the Pueblos; their famous snake dance has been 
repeatedly described until it would seem that not a single detail has escaped 
publication. Others have concerned themselves with Pueblo arts, the origin 
of the Pueblo and the relation between the Pueblo and the Cliff Dweller. 
Few tribes in America have been more thoroughly studied, and it is safe to 
say that the various departments of the Smithsonian Institution, the 
past thirty years, have published 5,000 or more pages relating to these 
people. As the peculiar customs are handed down from antiquity, we shall 
study them in detail at some future time and adhere to our rule of confining 
this book to the modern Pueblo. The following report submitted by 
Messrs. Eliot and Ketcham is self-explanatory and covers their activities, 
their needs, and warns us against the dangers with which they are 
threatened. 

"Land. The primary need of all the Pueblos is for a determination 
of the boundaries of their grants. The encroachment of squatters on the 



230 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Indian lands is constantly increasing and producing friction and litigation. 
These trespassers are not always blameworthy because the limits of the 
Indian lands are so indistinct. There is urgent need of surveys and of 
definite marks or bounds with indestructible monuments. When these 
have been established, vigorous action should be taken for the eviction 
of trespassers who have not established a legal right to occupancy. We 
earnestly recommend an appropriation for the immediate survey of all 
the Pueblo grants. 

"We recommend an Act of Congress prohibiting any Pueblo Indian 
from selling land. Such an Act will prevent endless misunderstandings 
and litigation. All the land problems of the Pueblos would be settled by 
accepting the proposal of the Indians to place all their lands in trust with 
the Department of the Interior. We believe this proposed course of action 
to be wise and just. 

"The liquor question is at the front in nearly every pueblo. Illegal 
selling and bootlegging are very prevalent and as a rule public opinion 
among the Indians does not condemn the use of liquor. In spite of the 
vigilance of the officers of the Government bad whiskey is demoralizing 
many of these Indians. The efforts of the Superintendents and their 
policemen for the suppression of this traffic should be heartily supported 
by the Indian Office and the superintendents should be authorized to 
employ additional policemen. 

"The prosecution and punishment of land thieves and liquor sellers 
put a very heavy burden upon the attorney for the Indians. We particu- 
larly commend the able, alert and disinterested service of Mr. Francis C. 
Wilson, who with very small resources has been remarkably successful in 
protecting the Indians and punishing those who would rob or degrade them. 
We earnestly recommend that his salary be put at $3,000 and that at least 
$1,000 be allowed him for the prosecution of the suits now pending. 

"We commend the good sense, vigor and assiduity of Superintendents 
Perry, Lonergan, Coggeshall and Mr. Snyder. They understand these 
Indians and without pampering or pauperizing them have their real inter- 
ests at heart. 

"Irrigation. Owing to the sandy nature of the soil of the Rio Grande 
Valley the seepage from the irrigation canals is excessive. We recommend 
that the canals at Isleta and Laguna, where conditions are particularly 
bad, be concreted. A reservoir is urgently needed at Taos. 

"Health. In spite of pernicious inbreeding and unsanitary conditions 
the health of the Pueblos is comparatively good. Instruction is needed in 
elementary sanitation. 



THE DESERT INDIANS 



231 



"Education. While heartily commending the work and efficiency of 
the boarding schools at Albuquerque and Santa Fe, we are clearly of the 
opinion that the best education for these Indians can be obtained in the 
day schools. Boarding schools are well adapted to nomadic Indians, but 
the Pueblos have always lived in permanent villages and the best schools 
for them are the day schools in or immediately adjoining the villages. The 




SOUTHERN UTE, COLORADO 
Modern Indian pictographs in the rear. 1902. Photograph by E. R. Forrest 

new day schools are well planned, but there is urgent need of more of them. 
The school accommodations at Isleta are a disgrace to the Government. 
They are unsafe and unsanitary and there is not room for half the children 
of school age. New school buildings should also be provided at Acoma, 
Acomita and Encinal. A farmer is greatly needed to give agricultural 
instruction at Isleta and Laguna. The needs of the boarding schools have 



232 



THE AMERICAN IXDIAN 



been sufficiently set forth in the recommendations of the superintendents. 
We especially commend the application for appropriations to buy additional 
land at Albuquerque and to build a dairy barn at Santa Fe. 

"We recommend the applications of Superintendents Lonergan and 
Coggeshall for additional policemen, and for authority to hire laborers 
when needed. It is absurd to have to request a physician to milk the cow 
or for a superintendent to personally have to carry the chain for his 
surveyors. 

"The training of the Pueblo Indians for life in a civilized environment 
must be slow. Their inherited habits and customs are exceedingly rigid 
and their prejudices are stubborn. The educated or progressive Indians 
among them have now a very hard road to travel. They need not only 
moral support, but sometimes actual physical protection. The superin- 
tendents should be encouraged tactfully but firmly to break up the personal 
despotism which often rules the villages, to protect the right of the individual 
to personal liberty, to insist upon the gradual adaptation of the pueblo 
life to its new environment. The Pueblos are now in a transition stage. 
They cannot pass through it without some bitter feelings and some hard 
experiences. They need the consistent, sympathetic, courageous leadership 
of their guardians, in whose good intentions they are beginning to trust." 

In closing the chapter on the desert Indians I desire to suggest that 
the older Pueblos be permitted to continue their weaving and pottery- 
making in their own way. It is perfectly proper to train the young in our 
arts, but the superb native arts of the old Indians should be encouraged. 
With the death of these old people, the art will deteriorate and disappear. 
I mention this particularly for the reason that several well-meaning, but 
misguided persons sent one or two representatives to Zuni and attempted 
to instruct the women in the manufacture of pottery. They even per- 
suaded them to glaze the pottery and to make tiles. The movement, if 
continued on a large scale, would result in ruining an art which is fast 
disappearing. 

The population is about stationary. The ceremonies of the antelope 
and snake societies are becoming more and more public. Recent photo- 
graphs of them show hundreds of white persons, teams and automobiles, 
and admission is now charged, for the dances and attendant ceremonies 
are fast becoming commercialized. They have persisted because of the 
curious life of these people - — a people who live, as it were, in a different 
world. With the extension of education, the allotment system, and the 
continual effort of Government employees to break down the old and 
insert the new, the real life of the Pueblos will soon pass away forever. 



CHAPTER XXIII. THE CAREER OF GERONIMO 



This fighting man was for many years feared and hated. He was not 
a docile person, and his tribe did not tamely submit to kicks and curses — 
the treatment meted out to his more gentle red brothers in California and 
Arizona. They were despised, trodden under foot, cast aside; not so with 
the Apaches and Geronimo. It required more than two years' labor on 
the part of hundreds of our cavalry to catch him, and when he surrendered 
there were but seventy-four in his band. 

Now that everything regarding the Indian is being made public, 
I deem it important that the true history of Geronimo be set forth. 

In 1905 this chief published the story of his life. His book is a re- 
markable production, and gives the Indian point of view, which is rare 
indeed.* 

Mr. Barrett, who wrote the story at Geronimo's dictation, had much 
trouble with the War Department. Officers objected to the narrative, and 
he was compelled to secure permission from President Roosevelt. Even 
then the War Department advised against publication. 

The history of the Apaches dates from the time of Coronado, who 
is supposed to have penetrated their country in 1541-'43 when he marched 
north in search of the fabled "seven cities of Cibola." There is no record 
of the Apaches, or any other Indians for that matter, beginning hostilities 
against the Spaniards. After Coronado, the Spaniards and the Apaches 
were at war for three centuries: The Spaniards pursued their usual policy 
in dealing with these people, and the latter returned an eye for an eye, and 
a tooth for a tooth. Geronimo and his people had abundant cause for their 
hatred of the Spaniards. It was a different story in Arizona and northern 
Mexico from that of California and central Mexico. Today the California 
Indians are paupers, and the gentle Aztecs have long since perished, but 
the sturdy Apaches remain and live in more or less prosperity on their 
several reservations. 

Geronimo says he was born in Arizona in 1829.f On the death of his 
father, Mangus-Colorado became chief of the Bedonkoke Apaches, to which 
band the subject of this sketch belonged. When a half -grown boy, Geronimo 
assumed the care of his mother, and in 1846 he joined the council of the 
warriors. Soon after this he married Alope and three children were born 



* Geronimo, the story of his life, Recorded by S. W. Barrett. New York ,1906. 
f 1834, according to Mooney, in Handbook of American Indians, page 491. 



GERONIMO 

Photographed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, about 1905 



GERONIMO 



235 



during the next few years. In 1858, when he was twenty-nine, his band 
went into Mexico to trade. One afternoon while Geronimo and the other 
men were returning from a visit, they were met by crying women and 
children who told them that the Mexicans had attacked the camp — a 
peaceful camp — and had massacred the men and most of the women and 
children. Geronimo lost his aged mother, his wife and his three small 
children. 

They decided to retreat to Arizona and as the Mexicans were searching 
for survivors in order to kill them, the remaining Apaches traveled all 
night. The mourning period, according to Indian etiquette, prevented 
Geronimo, who had lost more relatives than anyone else, from eating or 
speaking. He traveled two days and three nights without food and did 
not open his mouth until the third day. I quote from his book: — 

"Within a few days we arrived at our own settlement. There were 
the decorations that Alope had made — and there were the playthings 
of our little ones. I burned them all, even our tipi. I also burned my 
mother's lodge and destroyed all her property. 

"I was never again contented in our quiet home. True, I could visit 
my father's grave, but I had vowed vengeance upon the Mexican troopers 
who had wronged me, and whenever I came near his grave or saw anything 
to remind me of former happy days, my heart would ache for revenge 
upon Mexico." 

The Apaches collected arms and supplies. Geronimo visited other 
bands of his tribe, and in the summer of 1859, a year later, a large force 
(on foot) entered Old Mexico. They went light, and without horses, for 
strategic reasons. Knowing the country thoroughly — every water-hole, 
mountain and valley — they could trail unobserved. On horseback they 
must follow certain known trails, whereas on foot the band could scatter, 
travel singly and meet at a common rendezvous. It was well-nigh im- 
possible to follow unmounted Apaches, as all the military reports admit. 
They invariably scattered and sought the most inaccessible, waterless 
mountain ranges. 

Geronimo acted as guide, and near Arispe eight men came out from 
the village and were killed by the Apaches. The next day the Mexican 
troops attacked. Geronimo says that in one part of the field four Indians, 
including himself, were charged by four soldiers and in the final fight, two 
of the Indians were killed and the four troopers were slain, two of them 
by Geronimo himself. 

The art of trailing was developed among the Apaches and Comanches 
more than, among other Indians on this continent. Possibly a few Dela- 



236 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



wares might be excepted. The success of Geronimo's operations, as well 
as those of his able lieutenants, Cochise, Naiche, Mangus-Colorado, was 
chiefly due to the fact that the trail was to them an open book. As an 
illustration of the skill of the desert Indians in this respect, I would cite 
the case of Pedro Espinosa, who, when nine years old was captured by 
the Comanche and for years lived with the Comanches and Apaches. 
Colonel Dodge says of him that he was a marvel even to the Indians them- 
selves, and relates this incident: 

"I was once sent in pursuit of a party of murdering Comanches, who 
had been pursued, scattered, and the trail abandoned by a company of so- 
called Texas rangers. On the eighth day after the scattering, Espinosa 
took the trail of a single shod horse. When we were fairly into the rough, 
rocky Guadalope Mountains, he stopped, dismounted, and picked up from 
the foot of a tree the four shoes of the horse ridden by the Indian. With 
a grim smile he handed them to me, and informed me that the Indian 
intended to hide his trail. For six days we journeyed over the roughest 
mountains, turning and twisting in apparently the most objectless way, 
not a man in the whole command being able to discover, sometimes for 
hours, a single mark by which Espinosa might direct himself. Sometimes 
I lost patience, and demanded that he show us what he was following. 
'Poco tiempo,' he would blandly answer, and in a longer or shorter time, 
show me the clear-cut footprints of the horse in the soft bank of some moun- 
tain stream, or point with his long wiping-stick to most unmistakable 
'sign' in the droppings of the horse. Following the devious windings of 
this trail for nearly a hundred and fifty miles, scarcely ever at a loss, and 
only once or twice dismounting, more closely to examine the ground, he 
finally brought me to where the Indians had reunited." 

On another occasion, the Indians had fired the prairie to hide their 
trail. The officer in despair went to camp. Espinosa, after working over 
the ground carefully on his hands and knees, blew away the light ashes 
until sufficient prints were found to show the direction of the trail. He 
was compelled to make several circuits, covering a total of six or seven 
miles, and after weary hours spent in this work, the troops were able to 
pursue and capture the Indians. Espinosa and the Apaches once found a 
trail after dark by feeling of the ground with their fingers. This remark- 
able man, at the outbreak of the Civil War, was selected to carry dispatches 
from Union men in San Antonio to Colonel Reeve. He was captured and 
shot to death. The account presented by Dodge of Espinosa is very inter- 
esting and indicates that this unknown man in Plains knowledge was far 
in advance of the white scouts of which we have heard so much. The 



GERONIMO 



237 



Apaches recognized that their only weakness lay in their trail, and they 
tried by every means to conceal it. 

The next few years Geronimo led several expeditions into Mexico, 
sometimes being defeated, on other occasions returning with much plunder 
and many scalps. During his career as a fighting man he was wounded 
seven times. Once, he was left for dead, on the field. 

In 1861 the Mexicans attacked an Apache winter village, killing 
men, women and children. 

In 1864, while raiding in Mexico, Geronimo' s people captured a mule 
pack train. Some of the mules were loaded with mescal — an intoxicating 
drink of the Mexicans. The Apaches began drinking this and Geronimo, 
fearing the consequences, poured out all of the liquor. On this occasion 
he captured a herd of cattle, drove the cattle to Arizona, killed them, 
and dried the meat for winter use. 

Geronimo emphasizes in his book something unknown to the general 
public. Many outlaws, both Americans and Mexicans, stole cattle and 
committed robberies during these troublous years and the blame was 
always placed on the Apaches. In spite of all that has been said, the latter 
were not without their virtues, as the following anecdote attests. 

In 1883 two young men from the East, while prospecting in the moun- 
tains, saw an old Apache and a young man, apparently his son. In at- 
tempting to retreat to camp, one of the white men fell and broke his leg. 
The old warrior examined the broken limb, removed the shirt of the un- 
injured youth, tore it up and carefully bound the broken member. Then 
the old warrior, indicating the direction with his finger said: "Doctor — 
Lordsburg — three days," and silently rode away. 

Up to 1870 the Apaches had had little trouble with the white people, 
although in 1841, according to testimony presented by Mrs. Jackson, they 
had abundant grounds for hostility.* 

It was not until the 30th of April, 1871, that the real trouble began, 
The massacre at Camp Grant, in Arizona, of several hundred friendly 
Apaches, men, women and children, brought on hostilities. 

Beyond question, this and several subsequent raids on the part of 
white people, were responsible for the attitude of Geronimo, Victorio and 
Cochise. In 1873 and again in 1880 there was hard fighting in Mexico. 
In 1884 Geronimo was head war chief, and fought his heaviest engage- 
ments. How many men were killed in these actions is not stated. 

In the early sixties United States troops invited the Apache chiefs 
into a tent under promise, Geronimo states, that they were to be given a 



* Century of Dishonor, page 325 . 



238 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



feast. Geronimo says: "When in the tent they were attacked by soldiers. 
Our chief, Mangus-Colorado, and several other warriors, by cutting through 
the tent, escaped; but most of the warriors were killed or captured." Heavy 
fighting followed. Such Apaches as spoke English visited the officers 
and advised them where were located camps they sought, and while the 
soldiers hunted for these camps, Geronimo and his warriors, "watched 
them from our hiding-places and laughed at their failures." 

In 1863 the favorite chief, Mangus-Colorado, was put in the guard- 
house. He had been told by General West that he would be protected 
if he made peace. As the old chief entered he said: "This is my end." 
During the night some one threw a stone through the window and struck 
him in the breast. He sprang up, a^a as he did so the guard shot and 
killed him. 

In the seventies the United States troops sent for Victorio and Ger- 
onimo. As soon as they entered the camp they were taken to headquarters 
and tried by court-martial. Victorio was released and Geronimo was put 
in chains, remaining in shackles four months. 

For the next ensuing years there was considerable fighting, the Apaches 
being afraid to trust the United States authorities and the frontier element 
aiixious that the Apaches be exterminated. Our troops occasionally 
defeated the Indians but were more often repulsed. General Crook took 
away the Apaches' cattle and horses, and as few of the Apaches were horse 
Indians, preferring to fight or hunt on foot, and as the cattle were an incen- 
tive to thrift and industry, this action of General Crook's was not a severe 
blow to the Indians. 

The General followed the Apaches into Mexico and held an interview. 
I quote Geronimo's description of what occurred.* 

"Said the General: 'Why did you leave the reservation?' 

"I said: 'You told me that I might live in the reservation the same 
as white people lived. One year I raised a crop of corn, and gathered 
and stored it, and the next year I put in a crop of oats, and when the crop 
was almost ready to harvest, you told your soldiers to put me in prison, 
and if I resisted to kill me. If I had been let alone I would now have been 
in good circumstances, but instead of that you and the Mexicans were 
hunting me with soldiers.' 

"He said: 'I never gave any such orders; the troops at Fort Apache, 
who spread this report, knew that it was untrue.' 

"Then I agreed to go back with him to San Carlos. 

* Geronimo, the Story of his life, Recorded by S. M. Barrett, New York, 1908, page 138. 



GERONIMO 



239 



"It was hard for me to believe him at that time. Now I know that 
what he said was untrue, and I firmly believe that he did issue the orders 
for me to be put in prison, or to be killed in case I offered resistance." 

On the return march, the Indians left General Crook's command 
and fled. Geronimo became "a bad Indian" in every sense of the word. 
He says: "We were reckless of our lives, because we felt that every man's 




POMO WOMAN WEAVING A TWINED BASKET, CALIFORNIA 

hand was against us. If we returned to the reservation we would be put 
in prison and killed; if we stayed in Mexico they would continue to send 
soldiers to fight us; so we gave no quarter to anyone and asked no favors." 

The American troops in one action killed seven children, five women 
and four men. Again, three Apache children were slain. Later, all Ger- 
onimo's family was captured. 



240 



THE AMERICAN IXDIAN 



Naiche, son of the famous fighting chief, Cochise, fought for years 
with Geronimo and surrendered when further resistance was useless. 

The end came suddenly. Geronimo, driven from one side of the 
American-Mexican border to the other, found no rest for his band, and 
told Captain Lawton's scouts that he would surrender to General Miles 
under certain conditions. When Geronimo met General Miles, the inter- 
preter said, "General Miles is your friend." Even in so critical a situation 
his grim humor asserted itself. Geronimo retorted, "I never saw him, 
but I have been in need of friends. Why has he not been with me?" 

According to the narrative of the Indian chief and other witnesses, 
Geronimo was to live with his family and be supported by the Government, 
under certain restrictions. "I said to General Miles: 'All the officers 
that have been in charge of Indians have talked that way and it sounds 
like a story to me; I hardly believe you.' 

"He said: 'This time it is the truth.' " 

Geronimo gave up his arms saying : 

" 'I will quit the warpath and live at peace hereafter.'" 
"Then General Miles swept a spot of ground clear with his hand and 
said: 

" 'Your past deeds shall be wiped out like this, and you will start a 
new life. '" 

It is unfortunate that when the Apaches were taken East, not only 
the hostiles but also a few friendlies and some who had helped the troops, 
were also deported. They were imprisoned in Florida, and Geromino made 
to labor sawing large logs. One or two of the warriors committed suicide. 
After some years the prisoners were removed to Fort Sill. Geronimo 
often complained that the Government did not keep the terms of the 
Miles surrender. I have never heard that General Miles tried to right 
this wrong. If he did, I stand corrected. 

Geronimo did not see his family for two years — contrary to the 
terms of the surrender. 

The foregoing sums up in a brief way the career of Geronimo. Under 
similar circumstances any white man of spirit and independence, and who 
was not a coward, would become "a bad Indian." After many appeals 
by the Board of Indian Commissioners, the Indian Rights Association and 
others, these Apache prisoners were removed to their ancient homes. 
About seventy elected to remain near Fort Sill, Okla., and have been given 
farms. 

Practically all of them are doing well — industrious and capable. 



CHAPTER XXIV. THE NAVAHO 



The great Shoshonean and Athapascan stocks extended from the 
Northwest down into the Southwest. The States of Nevada, Utah, 
Arizona, New Mexico, southwestern Colorado, western Texas and southern 
California prior to 1860 were known as the "Great American Desert." 
The Yuman, Piman and Athapascan, together with a few lesser stocks, 
inhabited this great region. Chief of the desert tribes is the Navaho. 
Doctor Washington Matthews has presented considerable literature in 
the American Anthropologist and elsewhere on this interesting folk; Oscar 
H. Lipps published a history of the Navaho in 1909; George Wharton 
James, Esq., refers to them at considerable length in his publications. 
The Franciscan Fathers, having a mission at St. Michaels, Arizona, pub- 
lished in 1910 a complete ethnologic dictionary of the Navaho customs, 
legends, and gave large numbers of sentences. This also contained a 
bibliography of some length. Doctor George W. Pepper of the University 
of Pennsylvania Museum published a very interesting article on "The 
Making of a Navaho Blanket" in Everybody's Magazine, January, 1902. 
A volume giving details of blanket and wool industry among the Navaho 
has just been written by George Wharton James, Esq., entitled "Indian 
Blankets and Their Makers". This volume of 213 large pages contains 
many colored plates and is the most comprehensive treatment of the 
Navaho blanket- weaving industry ever published. 

The Navaho are the only really unspoiled Indians left in America, 
and I trust that readers will pardon repetition, when I again urge that 
they be let alone to work out their own salvation. That is, while certain 
safeguards are necessary, we should realize our incompetency and ignorance 
— not to use a stronger term — in handling the natives of Oklahoma, 
Minnesota and California, and not repeat our blunders in the "benevolent 
assimilation" of these intelligent, industrious, and moral people. Here 
is one splendid racial stock that has thus far escaped the blight of our 
bureaucracy. The Navaho still stands, frightened, gazing in at the threshold 
of our civilization. He sees the greed of the white settler for his possessions. 

There have been a number of reports on the Navaho, in addition to 
the ethnological and popular works cited. Any one of these will give 
readers a fair conception of conditions among these Indians. 

Rev. Anselm Weber of the Franciscan Mission published a pamphlet 
on July 25, 1914. The Indian Rights Association has also taken up of- 
ficially these Indians in its annual reports, the past two or three years. 



242 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Honorable F. H. Abbott, Secretary of the Board of Indian Commissioners, 
visited the Navaho and made specific recommendations as to allotment 
and irrigation plans. In December-January, 1913-'14, Rev. Samuel A. 
Eliot and Rev. William H. Ket chain, members of the Board of Indian 
Commissioners, officially visited the Navaho and made a report to the 
Secretary of the Interior. Rev. W. R. Johnson, missionary located at 
Indian Wells, Arizona, has repeatedly urged in public addresses at Lake 
Mohonk and elsewhere the need of proper protection of this, the finest 
body of aboriginal men and women remaining in North America. 

It is not necessary to go back to 1850, to state that these Indians were 
in a satisfactory condition. They are in a satisfactory condition today, 
and are the only band of Indians so situated in this country. The number 
of them is said by Father Weber to be about 25,000. Rev. Johnson, who 
traveled extensively over the reservation, claims there are 28,000. Taking 
into consideration several thousand that live off the reservation on the 
public domain, there are at least 30,000 Navaho today. The number 
of sheep they possess has been variously estimated from one million to two 
million head. The number of blankets the women wove last year, no man 
may know, but the value of the blanket industry is upwards of a million 
dollars per annum. A few years ago, Commissioner Valentine stated that 
the Navaho sold $800,000 worth of blankets. It must be remembered that 
many of their blankets are sold north of the San Juan river and elsewhere 
off the reservation, and that traveling traders and buyers continually 
penetrate beyond the borders of the reserve. The totals obtained by 
superintendents, teachers and white employees, is doubtless far below the 
actual volume of business. 

As everyone knows, the reservation is a part of our famous "painted 
desert". It is exceedingly diversified in character, the landscape varying 
from high mesas to deep canons; from towering mountains to stretches 
of desert. Fortunately, no mineral deposits aside from coal have been 
discovered. On three separate occasions, in the '60's, '70's and '80's, 
prospectors, in defiance of law, entered the Navaho reservation in search 
of gold, silver or copper. When I was conducting the cliff-dweller ex- 
peditions along the San Juan in 1892 and again in 1897, several of the 
"oldtimers" informed me that these prospectors were never heard of after- 
ward. Accompanying the last expedition, there were several men from 
north of Durango, Colorado, and their friends threatened reprisals on the 
Navaho, alleging that the Indians had killed these prospectors. However, 
aside from talk, nothing was done, the men never returned, and the Indians 
remained in peaceful possession of their estate. It was considered, in the 



THE NAVAHO 



243 



'70's and '80's "bad medicine" for white men to depart from certain 
Navaho trails! 

The Navaho reservation embraces 11,887,793 acres, of which approxi- 
mately 719,360 acres belong to the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Company, 
and approximately 55,400 acres to the State of Arizona, leaving 11,113,033 
acres. Consequently, if you take the very conservative figure of 25,000 
Navahos and 11,113,033 acres belonging to them, you would have 444 
acres to the person. But as four-fifths is high, dry mesa or absolute 
desert, the statement often made that each Indian might have 444 acres 
is misleading. Each Indian could not have (average) more than twelve 
or fifteen acres of pasture land. 

The Navaho are the only large body of Indians in the United States 
who keep up ancient customs, arts and ceremonies. They not only enjoy a 
great variety of games and sports, but they are probably the best and 
strongest long-distance runners in America. Mr. Lipps has given a very 
entertaining account of their games, etc., in his book, to which I have 
referred on a previous page. 

They are exceedingly adverse to burying their dead and are quite 
willing that white people should perform this service for them. Of all the 
remaining Indian tribes, they furnish the best field for investigation at 
the present time. Much has been written concerning them, but it will 
require additional researches in order to complete a satisfactory study of 
their ethnology. 

On the death of the head of the family, his property "descends to his 
brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts to the exclusion of his wife and children, 
a custom which is often very harmful in its effects, since if the wife should 
happen not to be possessed of some property in her own right she and her 
children are made to suffer penury and want."* 

In past years a number of the older men possessed two or three wives. 
Polygamy was to be expected, for the Mormons settled north of the San 
Juan, (Utah), long before white settlers came from the East. Although 
the Navaho probably believed in polygamy long ago, only those who were 
well-to-do had more than one wife, and the increase in polygamous marriages 
was undoubtedly due to the example set by the Mormons. 

The Government has taken steps to wipe out this practice and no more 
plural marriages are permitted. Men having more than one wife have 
been encouraged to give up their plural wives, and this has been done in 
some cases, mainly where there are no children by the marriage. 



* "A Little History of the Navahos." Oscar H. Lipps, page 49. 



THE NAVAHO 



245 



The Navaho are invariably kind and considerate to each other, and 
their family life is of higher plane than among most Indians. The children 
are seldom punished, for the good reason that they do not merit punish- 
ment. In the case of very old persons, it is sometimes observed that the 
children do not love and protect them as completely as might be expected. 

The chief taboo of the Navaho is the fish. Under no circumstances 
will a Navaho eat fish. He believes that upon the death of a very evil 
person, the spirit enters the body of a fish, hence his utter horror and 
hatred of the finny tribe. An Indian student entered Phillips Academy, 
Andover, some years ago. He was employed in the dining hall and thus 
earned his tuition. He informed me that his most disagreeable duty, and 
that which he loathed, was the preparation of fish for the weekly Friday 
dinner. 

When we were in camp at Chaco canon in 1897, the Navaho came to 
us in large numbers at meal time. Our larder rapidly diminished. Some- 
thing must be done. The cook found that one of the packing boxes had 
a large blue codfish stamped on the side. He placed this box out in plain 
view and the Indians who had assembled to eat supper with us withdrew 
to their own camps. 

The Navaho had carried on raids against the Mexicans and the frontier 
of Texas for many years. In 1863 a party of men led by the famous scout, 
Kit Karson, invaded their territory and killed a large number of Indians. 
All of the Navaho that could be captured were taken East to the Rio 
Pecos. Here they were kept until 1867 under military guard, when they 
were restored to their country and given a large flock of sheep. In 1869 
the Government assembled all these Indians and having difficulty to 
enumerate them because of their nomadic habits, resorted to a novel 
stratagem. The people were crowded in an enormous corral, and counted 
as they entered. The Handbook of American Indians states that there 
were some fewer than 9,000. I cannot believe that this estimate was 
accurate, for it would be impossible for troops to round up all the Navaho. 
Doubtless, many fled north of the San Juan, or west to the Colorado, on 
the appearance of the troops. 

They are very highly religious people and possess thousands of signifi- 
cant songs and prayers. The Handbook states that some of the ceremonies 
continue for nine nights, and that it is necessary for the shamans to spend 
years of study in order to become perfectly familiar with the complicated 
ritual. 

The Indians were much crowded before permitted to settle upon 
public lands. To meet this need, Commissioner Leupp in 1908 extended 



246 



THE AMERICAN IXDIAX 



the reservation. Father Weber covers all the details in his excellent pam- 
phlet. The white cattlemen and their friends set up a great uproar,, in- 
dignation meetings were held, and Congress was importuned to prevent 
the Indians from living on the public domain. In fact, all sorts of pressure 
was brought to bear to reduce the size of the reservation — although it 
was manifestly too small. Xone of the Mexicans and Americans, for 
whom the business men and politicians of the southwest were so concerned, 
were living on the tracts they sought to control. On the contrary they 




RED GOAT AND HIS MOTHER, NAVAHO, 190-2 
Photograph by E. R. Forrest 

lived in towns or settlements removed from the Indian country, and simply 
ranged their sheep and cattle over these tracts in charge of herders and 
cowboys. The Indians, the Xavaho. against whom this hue and cry was 
raised, actually had their homes upon the tracts, and were dependent upon 
them for their living. Many of them lived in the same place for two or 
three generations. During all the disputes, no one was shot, and no violence 
occurred. Yet all that was possible was done to mislead Congress, as the 
following speech attests. 

"I want to say to the Senator (Bristow) that possibly he does not 
understand the conditions as they exist in our country. Possibly he is not 



THE NAVAHO 



247 



aware of the fact that every year, two or three times a year, these Indians 
are allowed to go from their immensely rich reserves to interfere with 
white men, American citizens, on the public domain, causing the killing 
of anywhere from one to a dozen people. This is an unfortunate condition 
of affairs. I can say to the Senator that we people down in our section of 
the country can deal with these conditions if we are compelled to; but 
this sometimes becomes a question of all a man has — of his property 
rights, of protection to his family and his children. Any white man, any 
American citizen, will then use such force as is necessary in protecting his 
family. All that we seek to do is to restrict the further location of these 
Indians upon the public domain until Congress can act again. The com- 
mittee is being appointed, and I presume this matter will be investigated. 
It has been investigated before, and reports made, and no action taken. 
But this must cease; it must stop; and I tell the Senator from Kansas 
that it will stop." — (Congressional Record, June 17, 1913, page 2320). 
Father Weber's comment on it is very apropos: — 
"I regret that a Senator made this statement. I have been among the 
Navaho for sixteen years, and I know of not one single instance where a 
white man was killed on account of Navahos leaving the reservation, 
or on account of any grazing or land disputes. If every year the killing 
of from one to a dozen is occasioned by Navaho leaving their reserve, how 
is it that no one knows anything about it?"* 

In past years I have traveled a good deal over the Navaho reservation. 
Recently one of my friends, J. Weston Allen, Esq., of Boston, on behalf 
of the Boston Indian Citizenship Committee, of which he is vice-chairman, 
made a tour of investigation through the Navaho country, and the con- 
ditions as he found them were incorporated in an able report to the Secretary 
of the Interior. Major John T. Shelton, the Superintendent at Shiprock, 
who has long lived with these Indians, while differing in some details 
from the views of Mr. Sniffen, Rev. Johnson and Honorable F. H. Abbott, 
yet agrees with them in the main issue that the Navaho should not be 
too much superintended. All he needs is protection — not charity, sug- 
gestion, nor interference with his industry. Doctor W. W. Wallace, who has 
been a trader among the Navaho since 1890, writes me that the Indians 
have steadily progressed, that they ask no favors, and all they desire is 
to be permitted to continue on their successful way. My own observation 
leads me to believe that the reservation should not be reduced; allotments 
must not be made in any event until irrigation has disclosed the land 
values; more schools should be established, and above all dams should be 



* "The Navaho Indians. 



A Statement of Facts." Rev. Anselm Weber, O. F. M., page 5. 



248 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



erected to store water during the spring floods so that more acres may be 
brought under cultivation. There are vast possibilities for irrigation in 
the Navaho country, as Mr. Abbott has pointed out. The last investigation 
by two members of our Board (Ketcham and Eliot) was important, and 
I present two of the seven recommendations they strongly urged. 

"Allotment. We are thoroughly convinced that the time has not yet 
come for the allotment of the Indians on the reservation. The Navaho is 
proceeding along the way of civilization as fast as he can safely travel. He 
is independent and self-supporting. He is steadily improving his dwelling, 
his stock and his method of farming. He is learning English, sending his 
children to school, and increasingly following the advice of the white 
physicians. He is developing his own water resources, forming good in- 
dustrial habits and gradually adopting white standards of domestic life. 
Following their own customs, the Indians divide their common resources 
with remarkable fairness and live peaceably with one another and with 
the Whites. They must be permitted slowly to come into an understanding 
of our customs of private land ownership and inheritance. There is nothing 
to be gained by hurrying that process. Allotment on the reservation should 
not be thought of for a good many years to come. 

"We are impressed with the exceptional opportunity of the Navaho 
reservation for the work of field matrons and recommend that an addi- 
tional force be provided for. The field matrons should work in close 
cooperation with superintendents, teachers and physicians. 

"In general we believe that the condition of the Navaho is promising. 
The people are virile, industrious and independent. With the exercise 
of ordinary good judgment, patience and tact, there need never be any 
serious problem in connection with their development." 

Doctor Joseph K. Dixon, representing the Wanamaker Expedition, 
visited the "painted desert". He took some remarkable motion pictures 
of Navaho herders driving thousands of sheep down to the waterholes. 
As I observed these pictures, portraying the peaceful, industrious life 
of these red nomads of the desert, I wished fondly that all men and 
women unable to observe Indian life as it is in the Southwest, might see 
them. They recalled many interesting days spent among these sturdy 
folk. The natives living as do the Navaho, present an object lesson 
to all "reformers", and it is to be devoutly hoped that we will heed 
the lesson and "let well enough alone." To do otherwise will destroy 
the initiative of a self-supporting and upright people, and deprive the 
world of a primitive stock of exceptional physical stamina and mental 
ability. 



THE NAVAHO 



249 



Mr. Allen's report to the Secretary of the Interior and the Boston 
Indian Citizenship Committee cannot be reproduced at length, much to 
my regret, but I herewith append certain sections, as it is a splendid pres- 
entation of the Navaho situation and includes valuable recommendations 
to meet the needs of these Indians. 

"Three obvious difficulties immediately present themselves when any 
plan of Navaho settlement is considered — (1) the great inequality of the 
land for grazing purposes; (2) the scarcity of water, and the fact that 
much of the land is far distant from the nearest water supply; (3) the 
existence of summer and winter ranges and the removal of the sheep 
from place to place under the changing conditions of different seasons of 
the year. 

4 'Of the inequality of the land for grazing purposes, it is sufficient to 
say that there are vast areas of rock and sand where an allotment of 160 
acres would not support a single sheep. Of the inaccessibility of water, 
it may be similarly stated that there are sections of land within the reserv- 
ation which are so far from water during the dry season that sheep would 
die from exhaustion before they could reach it. Of the necessity of moving 
the sheep from one part of the reservation to another, it is perhaps sufficient 
to point out that in the winter the sheep must have the protection of the 
sheltered valleys and in the summer they are driven by the heat and the 
scarcity of water into the mountains. 

"A matter of far greater importance in the consideration of any 
equitable allotment is the determination of the location and extent of the 
land within the limitations of the reservation which can be claimed by 
irrigation." 

Mr. Allen points out the difficulties in allotting a nomadic people 
permanent homes. He is opposed to any allotment under existing con- 
ditions. It may have to come in time, doubtless prematurely as in the 
case of other reservations, but on the Navaho reservation there are dif- 
ficulties which have not been encountered in our experience with other 
tribes. 

Mr. Allen's report may be summed up as follows : — There should be 
a commission appointed composed of engineers and stockmen to thoroughly 
investigate the possibilities of the reservation, both through means of 
storage dams to conserve the mountain freshets in the springtime, and also 
to divert the water from the rivers as is being done along the San Juan 
river to the north. This stream carries a large volume of water, and al- 
though there are many white persons living north of the river in Utah and 
New Mexico and much water is used, the river is very high from May 1st 



250 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



to July 1st. It therefore affords great possibilities in the way of water 
storage. 

He recommends a detailed study of the eoalbeds and timber tracts 
on the reservation, and the improvement of the Navaho sheep, by the 
introduction of better stock. 

While tuberculosis is found in about 10% of the Navaho, trachoma 
is much more prevalent, and he records the usual story of afflicted Indian 
children, men and women. The hospital facilities are totally inadequate. 




NAVAHO WINTER HOG AX 
Photographed by E. R. Forrest ; 1902 

There is a hospital at Indian Wells, Arizona, maintained by the National 
Indian Association, an Episcopal hospital near Fort Defiance, while another 
is maintained by the Presbyterians at Ganado. The only large hospital 
with adequate equipment is at the Government school at Fort Defiance. 
Doctor Wigglesworth, physician in charge, who has won the confidence of 
these Indians by long years of constant labor among them, does all in his 
power to alleviate distress, but the field is entirely too extensive to be 
covered by one man. Mrs. Mary L. Eldridge, for many years in charge 
of a mission near Farmington, N. M., does medical work among the Indians. 
There is a small Government hospital at Shiprock. 



THE NAVAHO 



251 



The medicine men cause the Government officials and missionaries 
a great deal of trouble. Mr. Allen presents a number of incidents in his 
reports explaining their activities. Many Indians will not take treatment 
in the hospitals through fear of the shamans, and in more than one instance 
a sick Indian has been removed by his friends from the mission hospital 
during the night, and carried off to the village where he might be treated 
by the shaman. 




MODERN INDIAN HOUSE, SYLVIAN, OKLAHOMA 
This type is inferior in construction to the houses built in pre-statehood days 



Educational facilities are inadequate to care for half the children of 
school age. In many of the schools, trachoma has afflicted numbers of 
the children. When tuberculosis develops among the school children they 
are sent home from the school to die without medical attendance. Mr. 
Allen suggests that more physicians, qualified to treat trachoma and 
tuberculosis, be appointed to service among the Navaho, and that each 
one be assigned a territory fifty miles square, with a field sanitarium located 
near the center of the territory. He also suggests that young Navaho 
women, selected from the larger boarding schools, be trained as nurses, 
since many^of these Indians do not take kindly to treatment by white 



252 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 

persons, and it is difficult to secure competent nurses who are willing to 
remain long in the small frontier hospitals of the Navaho desert. 

At Shiprock, Superintendent Shelton has developed a large school 
with extensive farms and industrial buildings. The settlement at Shiprock 
is justly considered one of the show places in the Indian Service. Here the 
desert is made to blossom as the rose. Mr. Shelton admits few small 
children in his school and keeps his scholars until they reach adult age. 
He is thus able to make a better showing in his farms and gardens than do 
those who receive the children at an earlier age, and return them to their 
homes after four or five years of training. Mr. Shelton' s work at Shiprock 
could now be carried on by some one else, and his recognized ability used 
in a new field to develop another section of the reservation further west. 
By creating another Shiprock, he could do more to raise the standard of 
of living among his people. 

Superintendent Parquette at Fort Defiance is extending education 
work throughout his reservation, and reaches a larger percentage of children 
of school age than are being reached elsewhere in the Navaho country. 

In concluding his report, Mr. Allen points out the failure of the returned 
student to make good and the reasons for it. 

"The problem of the returned student is a serious one among the 
Navaho. The boys and girls who have been for years in school come back 
to their people without a training for taking care of the flocks, and are 
outdone by those who remain at home. They are for this reason more 
or less looked down upon, with the result that they have no inclination 
to continue the habits of study and cleanliness which they have acquired 
at school and which are not appreciated in the home. The effort of the 
old men of the tribe is to keep the children who return from school from 
seeking any higher place than is enjoyed by other members of the family. 
If the young men and the young women of the tribe, who have received 
an education and who have acquired an appreciation of what they learned 
in school, intermarried, the benefits of their education would be more 
permanent, but many of the girls upon their return from school are given 
in marriage by their parents to old men of the tribe, and many of the boys 
return only to find that they are required to marry old women, or at best, 
'camp girls' as they are called — the uneducated girls of the hogan. The 
inevitable result is that they go back to the old life." 



CHAPTER XXV. INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST 



The Indians of the great Northwest, are today of many diversified 
and small bands, chief among which are the Crows, Utes, Nez Perces, 
Paiutes, Northern Cheyennes, Blackfeet, and Yakimas, and various 
Columbia River bands. Linguistically they are Athapascan, Salishan and 
Shoshonean stocks with remnants of other stocks along the Pacific coast. 
Practically all of them live on reservations. As in the case of the other 
tribes described in this volume, the children have been educated, allot- 
ments have been granted to most of the individuals, irrigation schemes 
either projected or carried into effect, timber sold, or Government sawmills 
established, and the entire life of the Indians changed. The narrative, 
therefore, must be along historical and philanthropic lines rather than 
ethnologic. True, up to about 1880 many of these Indians lived in their 
original condition, and particularly is this true of the Paiute and Modoc 
bands located far from the established routes of travel. The Indians of 
the Northwest came in contact with the trappers and gold-hunters flocking 
to the new country made familiar by the Lewis and Clark expedition. As 
an inevitable result, a number of wars occurred in which all of the Indians 
were more or less engaged. The most noted of these was the Nez Perce 
war of 1877, in which Chief Joseph led his Indians on a magnificent retreat 
through the mountains for upwards of 1100 miles to nearly the Canadian 
border. The story of our broken faith with the Nez Perces is set forth 
in many documents and by General Howard himself in his book, "Chief 
Joseph. His Pursuit and Capture." 

Following the Nez Perce war, in 1878, the Bannock Indians, a numerous 
division of the Shoshonean stock, were so harassed by white people that 
they went upon the warpath. A number of settlers and soldiers were 
killed, and in September, 1878, the outbreak came to an end after the 
military had killed all the women and children in a village of twenty lodges. 

In 1870 the Modocs in southeastern Oregon had obtained a very un- 
savory reputation. This was due to their resenting the encroachments of 
the Whites. Many settlers, and also friendly Indians, were killed during 
various encounters. The trouble culminated in the famous siege of the 
lava beds, on the California frontier between Oregon and California. Here 
the Indians located in an almost impregnable stronghold and withstood 
the attacks of troops from January to April, 1873. Some Peace Com- 
missioners, headed by General Camby, were sent to treat with the Indians 
and these were treacherously murdered. After hard fighting the strong- 



254 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



hold was taken and five of the leaders captured and hanged. Like other 
Northwest tribes (except larger bands) the Modocs have so dwindled in 
numbers that they now cease to be a factor in Indian life. The northern 
Cheyennes now located on a reservation at Lame Deer, Montana, have 
long been known as a fighting people. Two generations ago the Cheyennes 
were much in evidence with the Sioux and other tribes in an attempt to 
prevent the usurpation of their hunting grounds and grazing lands on the 
part of the Whites. One of the Department Inspectors recently visited 
their reservation and under date of September 17th, writes me as follows: 

"I am very busy and am finding conditions here about as bad as 
they were at White Earth except that these Indians have not been allotted 
and are not losing their land, but they are just as poor and are eating dogs, 
horseflesh, prairie dogs, porcupines and skunks. Conditions are dis- 
graceful but will be properly presented, you may be sure." 

The Crow Indians, an offshoot of the Siouan stock, in Montana, are 
numerically the strongest of any of the mountain tribes. They possess a 
very large reservation, abundant grazing lands, timber and agricultural 
possibilities. However, as in the case of the Cheyennes, they have been 
backward in spite of all efforts on the part of the Government to educate 
them. The problem on their reservation relates chiefly to the grazing 
privilege. The Indians were leasing a vast tract of land to white men for 
the pasturing of cattle and horses at so much per head. The Whites took 
advantage of the Indians' ignorance and it was necessary for the Indian 
Rights Association to conduct a thorough investigation. I quote from the 
Association's report as to former conditions among the Crows, and the 
present improvement . 

"The Crow Reservation, in Montana, had for years been controlled 
by a small ring of men, who boasted of strong political backing, and they 
used it for their private gain at the expense of those Indians, through the 
connivance of the Agent, who had formerly been employed in a bank of 
which the leader of this ring was the principal stockholder. For three years 
the Indian Rights Association sought to have a real investigation made at 
that point by the Department, but instead of receiving any encouragement, 
its efforts were blocked at every turn. Secretary Garfield had said to us, 
'bring me facts, and I will investigate them,' but he refused to give us a 
formal permit to enable us to go on to the reservation and get those facts. 
When our Secretary was sent there for that purpose, a little later, he was 
promptly arrested and ordered off the reservation at his earliest convenience. 

"When Commissioner Valentine assumed office, however, he promptly 
afforded our Secretary every courtesy and facility that were required to 



INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST 



255 



go unmolested over the reservation; and when the result of a month's 
sifting was brought to his attention, he not only ordered an immediate 
investigation, but Mr. Sniffen was requested to be present to represent the 
Indians — an invitation that was, of course, accepted. 

"On the basis of the information gathered by our Secretary, the chief 
Supervisor of the Indian Office conducted an investigation during October 
and November, 1909, and his treatment of the Crow Indians was in decided 
contrast to their experience with a former Inspector two years previous, 
when, without provocation, their main witness was brutally cursed and 
ordered from the tent. When the Supervisor's report was submitted, 
however, it proved to be one of 'confession and avoidance.' He made it 
plain, certainly in a number of respects, what some of the conditions were, 
but he avoided placing the responsibility where it belonged — upon the 
then Superintendent. It was clearly proved that this Superintendent 
knowingly and wilfully permitted the violation of a United States statute 
by the man he regarded as his real superior, who was NOT an official of 
the Government, and that provisions of the grazing permits had not been 
respected. In spite of this and more, however, the Supervisor recommended 
that the Superintendent be 'assured of the confidence of the Indian Office 
in his integrity, business ability and moral character.' A few months later 
(in 1910), the Superintendent was forced by pressure to resign, notwith- 
standing the 'confidence of the Indian Office in his integrity,' etc. He 
was succeeded by an honest and efficient high-grade man, and conditions 
on the reservation have greatly improved. It is significant that the revenue 
derived from the grazing privileges under the new management will amount 
during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, to $160,000, whereas under the 
former Superintendent it was $33,001.27." 

All of these tribes mentioned in this chapter still possess sufficient 
property for their maintenance, and some of them a great deal. The 
conditions are not intolerable as elsewhere, and most of the educated 
Indians have become self-supporting and are successful farmers, teachers, 
lumbermen, etc. Along the Columbia river the salmon industry affords 
employment to hundreds of men and women, and the vast extent of orchards 
and vineyards presents an opportunity for other hundreds of Indians to 
earn money picking fruit and hops, harvesting grains and hay, picking 
apples, etc. 

One of the richest reservations in point of natural resources is that 
inhabited by the Yakima of the same linguistic family as the Nez Perces 
(Shahaptian) . A gentleman whom I have known for many years, L. V. 
McWhorter, Esq., has a ranch adjoining the reservation, and has lived 



INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST 



257 



among these Indians until he has become entirely familiar with the situ- 
ation and their needs. The problem in the Northwest, being totally dif- 
ferent from that elsewhere in the United States, I herewith reprint a number 
of paragraphs from Mr. McWhorter's recent pamphlet "The Crime Against 
the Yakimas." 

It indicates how that the white people have dispossessed these Indians 
and taken advantage of the wonderful agricultural, timber and water- 
power resources. There are a number of other places in the United States 
where at present similar conditions to that on the Yakima reservation 
face the Indians, and this may serve to illustrate other sections of the 
country where irrigation schemes on Indian lands are under consideration. 

"The Yakima Indian Reservation, Washington, was created at the 
Walla Walla Treaty in 1855, for the Fourteen Confederated Tribes, and 
covers approximately 1,000,000 acres of diversified country, including a 
vast body of fine desert lands susceptible to irrigation, which last has been 
allotted in severalty to the Indians, numbering 3,046 souls. About 42,000 
acres of this is under a good system of irrigation, some private ditches, 
the canals being paid for by the Indians and by special appropriations by 
the Government. Crops are produced on 10,000 acres additional by sub- 
irrigation, while perhaps 20,000 acres of the allotted lands have been 
purchased by the Whites. This irrigable region, fertile beyond conception 
when watered, has long been coveted by the white man. The first attempt 
at irrigation on this reservation was in 1859. 

"In 1895 the Commercial Club of North Yakima, Wash., petitioned 
Congress to sell the surplus lands of the Yakimas, and to open the reserva- 
tion for settlement. Two years later Commissioners were sent to negotiate 
with the tribe. It was estimated that 200,000 acres of land would suffice 
for all allotments, and for the residue the Government offered $1,400,000, 
deferred payments to bear four per cent interest. The Yakimas refused this 
offer. 

"Aside from the Jones Bill, December 21, 1904, which provides for 
the opening of the reservation and the sale and settlement of unallotted 
tribal lands, the next serious attempt to amputate the Yakimas from their 
lands culminated in the notorious Jones Bill, March 6, 1906, which pro- 
vides that the irrigable lands of the Reservation be cared for by the United 
States Reclamation Service. This bill, with the consent of the Indian, 
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to sell sixty acres of each eighty- 
acre allotment; the twenty acres retained by the Indian to be furnished 
with a water right, to be paid for from the sale of the sixty acres. After the 



258 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



payment of such water right, 'the balance, if any, shall be deposited in the 
treasury of the United States, to the credit of the individual Indian, and 
may be paid to any of them, if, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior, 
such payments will tend to improve the condition and advance the progress 
of said Indian, but not otherwise.' Under this act the Wapato Project 
to water about 120,000 acres, was launched. The estimated cost for a 
water right for the Indian's twenty acres, including storage, is $30.00 
per acre." 

We have no space for a full discussion of the attempt to rob the 
Yakimas. Friends rallied to their support — notably the Indian Rights 
Association. McWhorter saw the fruits of his toil ripening, and it now 
appears that these Indians will be protected in part, if not entirely. 

June 8th, 1912, the Indians themselves sent a long petition to Hon. 
J. H. Stephens, Chairman of the House Committee on Indian Affairs. The 
closing paragraphs are characteristically Indian : — 

"On Ahtanum River divide of our reservation where white man have 
most land, the Secretary of the Interior gives three-fourths of water to 
white man. Now, when red man have most land to water, he gives nearly 
all water to white man. This was done and we could not help ourselves. 
We want only what is right. God wants the white man and the red man 
to live in peace. We try hard to do right and obey the white man's laws. 
We want you to help us. 

"Our friend in Congress introduced 4 House joint resolution 250' for 
Attorney General to settle our water rights. This is good, but Secretary 
Interior hold up this resolution and try to make Jones bill 6693 law, so 
Reclamation will own all water and have us flat. We want you to stop 
Jones bill and make law the resolution 250. Then Attorney General will 
settle all justly. If this is not done we are bringing suit in United States 
court to settle our water rights. We want the white man to be honest 
and treat us right. Our words are done. 

"Our friend, help us. We want to hear from you. 
"Your friends, 
"(Signed) We-yal-ltjp Wa-ya-ci-ka (his x mark), 

" Chief Judge of the Yakima Tribal Courts, 

" Clan Chief of the Ahtanum. 

"(Signed) Louis Mann, 

"Corresponding Secretary of the [Indian] Councils. 

The Utes of Utah and Colorado never have been progressive, though 
some of them do work. They require special treatment. A Government 



INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST 259 



employee remedied conditions among them in August, 1912, and wrote 
me, giving sensible advice, as follows : — 

"What good does it do to send out circulars on sanitary conditions 
and dairying, when some of these Indians are in destitute circumstances? 
The poor Utes down at Navaho Springs need something to eat and wear, 
and some blankets to keep them warm. They sleep on sheepskins on the 
floors of their tipis. They get but little rations. They have been com- 
pelled to sell their ponies and buckskin suits, and beadwork, and Navaho 
blankets, to get something to eat for themselves and their children. They 
have no allotments, do not farm and have no way to make a dollar. 




\ 1 — — „ , , ___ . *_ 

INDIAN PACK-TRAIN IN THE MOUNTAINS 
Photographed by E. R. Forrest, Washington, Pa. 

"Here at this reservation I have found that the Indians have been 
defrauded in their lands and moneys. They sold their lands under di- 
rection of the Agent, and then the scheme was to get their money away 
as soon as possible. It was done through the dishonest Indian trader in 
every possible manner. Indians' checks were drawn, of which the Indian 
knew nothing, in favor of some Indian trader for horses, wagons and 
other things of which the Indian had no knowledge and which he did not 
get. Although the checks are drawn in his name and charged to the Indian, 



260 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



no credit is given the Indian on the books of the trader. This is just a 
sample. One poor Indian who lives at Navaho Springs, had his allotment 
of 160 acres sold for $245. This was put on the books to his credit. Then 
a check was drawn for a horse and saddle in favor of Mr. Trader for $165 
to pay for same. He never bought same and never had this horse and 
saddle. No credit for this check on the Trader's books. Then another 
check was drawn in the sum of $67 against this Indian account, of which 
he knows nothing, for a saddle, bridle, and tent. He never bought or got 
the bridle, saddle, or tent and knows nothing of the transaction. He never 
put his thumb mark to either check. So out of the little pittance he got 
for his land, a little more than a dollar an acre, he has had stolen from 
him out of that $245, the sum of $232." 

Several correspondents in the Northwest give their opinions on what 
should be done, and I submit extracts from their letters. 

"The Government, in my judgment, should further strengthen its 
work in suppressing the liquor traffic among the Indians. A large ap- 
propriation should be asked for each year, and good, competent men 
should be employed to break up the traffic. In my opinion, it is useless 
to educate the Indian to grow up and drink himself to death, and if the 
United States laws are too little enforced with relation to the liquor traffic 
among Indians, it is not because they are not violated, but because the 
Government has not yet secured sufficient assistance to see that the law- 
violators are punished. 

Correspondent, Pendleton, Oregon 

"I have always believed that unallotted Indians who have large 
grazing areas on their reservation should be the direct beneficiaries of their 
own grazing-lands and have continually urged that a reimbursable appro- 
priation be made to stock this reservation. It has also occurred to me that 
the Indians should be encouraged by the use of large reimbursable appro- 
priations to stock their allotments with tools and livestock and I am glad 
that the above propositions are being actively pushed as desirable propo- 
sitions by the present Commissioner of Indian Affairs." 

Correspondent, Lame Deer, Montana 

"In my opinion, the reservation was opened seventy-five years too 
soon. With the exception of a few half-breeds, they were absolutely un- 
prepared for the opening of the reservation. Humanly speaking, they are 
doomed to utter annihilation. In dealing with them, we forgot that they 



INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST 



261 



were savages, and that, as it took centuries to polish our own ancestors 
who were vastly more intelligent than these redmen, at least one century, 
or one century and a half, would be required to make these people civilized." 

Correspondent, St. Ignatius, Montana 

"When I took charge, nothing had been done for them by the Govern- 
ment. I at once issued agricultural implements, wire, seeds, etc., and 
organized each band and devoted the first efforts to agriculture on in- 
dividual tracts, but worked all together as a community. By this means 
we raised a good crop the first year, in one instance going from almost 
starvation to plenty in the short space of four months. Since that time 
not a single ration has been issued, and aside from supervisory work and 
teaching, which is given by myself and employees, all my Indians are 
entirely self-supporting. I am unqualifiedly and absolutely opposed to 
all ration and annuity distribution as it has been carried on in our depart- 
ment. I am insisting upon all my Indians caring for and supporting their 
old people, and see that it is done. My method of helping Indians is to 
work both day and night to inaugurate methods and give opportunities 
to enable them to work out their own salvation. 

"I have had an unusual opportunity to work out my own ideas, by 
reason of beginning in a virgin field. So far I have been remarkably suc- 
cessful. However, there is a strange characteristic apparent among all 
Indians, that they have apparently no sense of gratitude, and take every- 
thing that is done as a matter of course, and do not seem to have the faculty 
of contrasting their situation from year to year and striking a balance, as 
it were, to note their material progress. 

44 1 have no suggestions as to reforms, except those directed toward 
the Indian himself. In this State he is not discriminated against as in 
others. Here he has nothing except his labor to tempt the cupidity of the 
Whites. In the past he has been given many opportunities for improve- 
ment through the Mormon Church, and he had the chance to become just 
as well off as the majority of the Mormon immigrants who came here into 
the desert almost with their bare hands. So the fault, if fault it is, lies 
entirely with himself. He had the opportunity to observe and profit by 
the example of the poor Whites who started on desert ground under the 
same environment and made themselves homes; in addition to this just 
as soon as the Mormon Church was able, the authorities 'called' some of 
its members, sent them to each band, not as preaching missionaries, but 
as farmers, and gave them tools and oxen and instructed them how to use 
them. This was done with every band under my jurisdiction. As these 



THE CHALLENGE. NEZ PERCE WARRIOR 
Copyright by L. V. McWhorter, who photographed the Indian, and 
permits publication 



INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST 



263 



missionaries were sent without any pay, and were poor, they had their 
own families to support, and gradually returned to the settlements, leaving 
the Indians to carry on their work themselves. The Indians simply killed 
the oxen and kept up their nomadic life to a great extent, simply holding 
campgrounds on the water courses where their water rights have been 
protected by the church until I took all the responsibilities over." 

Correspondent, Salt Lake City, Utah 

"The immorality of our Indians, in my opinion is largely (probably 
seventy -five per cent) due to the presence of low Whites. Had the Indians 
been left alone seventy-five years longer; and had they been allowed to 
continue the time-honored custom of punishing crimes with the whip — 
they would be today easily and surely seventy -five per cent better men than 
they are. Here again we forgot that they were savages, absolutely im- 
pervious to really noble feelings, such as honor, and that it takes time and 
careful training to raise them to a higher level. Today, they are incapable 
of feeling the shame of a prison or penitentiary. When they come back 
from either, they are treated as heroes. Twenty-five years ago, a whipping 
solemnly, modestly, and moderately administered to those who had been 
guilty of thievery, adultery, fornication, gambling or drunkenness, was 
producing marvelous results. Two years ago, a deputation of Kootenay 
Indians came to beg me to write in their name to the Great Father (the 
President) and ask him to allow again the use of the whip. They said, 
'Tell the Great Father that our young men and women only laugh at the 
white punishments ; it is the whip and the whip alone that kept us straight, 
and the same punishment alone will correct the generation.' 

"Under the present circumstances I believe that the Government has 
at heart the welfare of its wards and is protecting them. There is only one 
flaw which I desire to bring to your notice. The real wards of the Govern- 
ment are the full-blood Indians, and they, more than the mixed-bloods, 
are entitled to the care of the Government, for many reasons, easy to 
understand; now, in point of fact, mostly all of them, on this reservation, 
are helpless. They are, if in good health, unable to understand their real 
interest, and to work as they should. In matters of business they are at 
the mercy of everyone who chooses to deceive them. But the number of 
those who are in health is very limited. The vast majority are old, crippled, 
blind or otherwise helpless. And those, I am sorry to say, are practically 
left unaided. They need food, raiment, shelter, they should be supported. 
As it is, they are practically thrown on the charity of the white people. 
Though possessed of lands, they are unable to draw any profit from them. 



264 



THE AMERICAN 



INDIAN 



Some appropriation is made yearly for those; but it is insufficient to furnish 
them with food, raiment and shelter. Means should be provided for that 
purpose. They are doomed to disappear, and in justice their last years 
should be made comfortable. The Government has been collecting large 
sums of money from the white settlers; why not dispose of some of this 
money liberally for the impotent full-blood Indians who are left in des- 
titution, instead of spending it in improving the irrigation of the reserva- 
tion, which improvement will never benefit the full-blood Indians who are 
disappearing, but will turn to the advantage of the mixed-bloods who have 
very little right to the land (some of them none at all) and who, on account 
of their superior intelligence got the very best part of the allotments at 
the time of the opening of the reservation. The condition of mostly all the 
full-bloods is pitiful. If they have leased their lands, it takes them an age 
to receive their money, the local Agent having no authority to disburse it, 
and the Indian Bureau being very slow in granting it. It seems to me that 
provision should be made in favor of destitute Indians to have them receive 
monthly some food, and a small sum of money to provide themselves with 
clothes, also to have them provided with decent houses and with fuel when 
they cannot get it themselves. No one but those who live on the spot have 
any idea of the privations which this class of full-bloods have to submit to, 
through no fault of theirs. It seems to me that this evil could easily be 
remedied. Some people seem to think that a monthly sum of money, $20, 
should be paid to each destitute Indian, with which he could easily provide 
for his needs; but knowing them as I do, I would prefer to see them receive 
only $10 or even So with rations, for if they get more money, they will 
spend it all in the first days of the month." 

Correspondent, St. Augustins, Montana 



Note — A very interesting book, "Life Among the Pai-utes," was written by Sarah Winnemucca in 
the early '80's. This presents an account of the Xez Perce, Bannock and other wars from the 
Indian point of view. 



CHAPTER XXVI. HEALTH OF THE INDIANS 
1880 TO 1912 

That the Indians of the present time are in a deplorable condition 
as to health, no person familiar with Indian affairs will deny. It is in- 
comprehensible to me that the appropriations for combatting disease are 
so meagre, and the appropriations for allotting and education so lavish. 
As a western friend of mine, who had observed Indians for more than 
thirty years says, "Of what use is education to an Indian with consump- 
tion? An Indian child learns to read and write, contracts trachoma, is 
sent home and goes blind. How does education benefit the blind Indian?" 

Doctor Ales Hrdlicka of the Smithsonian Institution recently made 
an investigation of health conditions among the Indians. His report is 
statistical in character, and will be found in Bulletin 42, Smithsonian 
Institution, 1909. 

Following this, the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service made 
a thorough investigation in 1912-13 of health conditions among the Indians 
and published another statistical report, "Contagious and Infectious Dis- 
eases Among the Indians", Document No. 1038, 62nd Congress, 3d Session. 
Investigations were conducted in twenty-five states by competent corps 
of medical observers. No trachoma was found in Florida. Among the 
New York Indians there was but .2 of one per cent; Wisconsin 6.86 per 
cent. In the other states the percentages rise rapidly, reaching 15.5 per 
cent in Minnesota; 22.38 per cent in New Mexico; 24.9 per cent in Arizona; 
68.72 per cent in Oklahoma. 

As to tuberculosis, but 1.27 per cent was observed among the New 
York Indians. But the investigation set forth in the Public Health report 
related mainly to trachoma and there were limitations placed on tubercu- 
losis research. 

Although the Commissioner of Indian Affairs states that there are 
25,000 Indians suffering from tuberculosis, the number is probably greatly 
in excess of that figure. In Minnesota alone, in 1909, I found the greater 
majority of the Indians suffering from tuberculosis, trachoma, or some 
form of scrofulous disease. It is not necessary to go into this subject in 
any detail. That disease among these poor people is rampant, is inex- 
cusable. It is heart-rending. It is a blot on our escutcheon, and should 
have been removed long ago. Whether the delay in establishing pre- 
ventive measures, until trachoma and tuberculosis became widespread, 
is due to ignorance, incompetency or carelessness, it is not my purpose 



HEALTH OF THE INDIANS 



267 



to state. I have high respect for the personnel of the medical branch of 
the Service. The fault is not theirs, but solely due to meagre appropria- 
tions, and lack of proper reports from the inspection corps. I simply 
desire to cover this unpleasant subject with a blanket statement of facts 
that the condition is intolerable, and all of us have been criminally neg- 
ligent. We introduced tuberculosis, trachoma, smallpox, measles, diph- 
theria and most of the other diseases. If any man or woman doubts the 
statement, let him or her read the narratives of travelers among Indians 
two centuries ago and compare the condition then, with that today. There 
is no earthly excuse why instead of three or four, there should not be 
fifteen or twenty doctors on every reservation. There is no reason why 
our rich, powerful Government does not appropriate two or three million 
dollars a year to put an end to the miseries we ourselves have introduced. 

Persons of prominence have called attention to the spread of disease 
in past years. Commissioner Leupp first noted that health conditions 
were bad, and increased his medical corps. But his successor, Honorable 
R. G. Valentine, made a health campaign the chief thing of his adminis- 
tration. He went before Congress and plead for increased appropriations. 
Great credit is due him for his humane efforts, which are continued by 
the present Service head, Mr. Sells. 

Before the Government awoke to the need of health protection, 
a gentleman in California was a pioneer in the fight against disease. He 
has lived to see the fruits of his planting, but for many years his voice 
was that of one crying in the wilderness, and few there were who thought 
of repentance. I refer to Charles F. Lummis, Esq., an authority upon 
the Pueblo and California Indians. Mr. Lummis has written me a long 
letter in which he sets forth the difficulties under which he labored, and 
how that he was roundly denounced because he opposed the scheme of 
taking children accustomed to open-air life, shipping them East, crowd- 
ing them into contract schools — thus making of strong, healthy boys 
and girls, consumptives. Lummis fought — not education, but this 
pernicious and wicked policy. Some of his experiences were interesting. 
He speaks of the former school conditions, and I take it that his strictures 
do not apply to the past two or three years. 

44 It is obvious that to take children from the high, dry climate of New 
Mexico and the general Southwest, back to the Eastern winters and to 
steam-heated halls, can have but one effect. That is no theory. I have seen 
the practical workings for more than a quarter of a century; and it is my 
sincere conviction that Carlisle and similar schools away from home have 
graduated more consumptives and more sons and daughters forever alien- 



268 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



ated from their parents and kin, than they have produced of scholars or 
other people seriously useful in any walk of life. 

"I do know that thirty years ago consumption was almost unknown 
in most of the Pueblos in New Mexico. I do know that the first con- 
sumptive Pueblo I ever saw was from Carlisle; and that most of the con- 
sumptive Indians that I have known in my thirty years acquaintance with 
New Mexico have come back thus infected from these Eastern Government 
Schools". 

"At a meeting of the National Educational Association in this city 
in July, 1899, I had a serious clash with a distinguished Indian educator. 
An Indian convention was held in conjunction with the N. E. A. I was 
busy ; but seeing the daily reports finally became so incensed at the inhuman 
and stupid proceedings, that on the last day I went to the Convention 
and took the floor almost by force, after listening to most of the afternoon's 
proceedings. 

"This man had with him two very charming and well-schooled Indians 
— a young man and a young woman, who were called up by him 
to answer some of my strictures as to the Carlisle methods. And they 
made eloquent and loyal defences. The audience (being as unobservant 
as American audiences generally are) were very much surprised when in 
my reply I called attention to the fact that the two model students that 
Mr. Educator brought with him were both consumptives, and I asked him 
point blank if they were consumptive when they entered Carlisle.- 

"Of course I got no answer — and I was lucky in getting out of the 
hall alive." 

Los Angeles, Sept. 14th, 1914. 

Doctor Ales Hrdlicka, in the year 1908, acting for the Indian Office 
and the Smithsonian Institution, investigated health conditions with 
reference to tuberculosis among five selected tribes of the United States. 

On page 7 of the report Doctor Hrdlicka states : — 

"The investigations on which this report is based were pursued in 
five of the tribes, shown in the above-mentioned data to be most afflicted 
with tuberculosis, and in one of the large non-reservation schools. The 
tribes in question are the Menominee in northeastern Wisconsin; the 
Oglala Sioux in South Dakota; the Quinaielt on the seacoast and along 
the river of the same name in northwestern Washington; the Hupa in 
northwestern California; and the Mohave, on the Colorado river between 
Needles, Cal., and Yuma, Ariz. These tribes were selected not only because 
of the prevalence among them of tuberculosis, but also because they live 
under widely differing conditions of climate, environment, civilization, and 



HEALTH OF THE INDIANS 



269 



contact with the Whites. The school visited is the one at Phoenix, Arizona. 
The investigation was carried on during the two months of midsummer 
when people everywhere are most free from the various bronchial and 
pulmonary affections that might complicate a diagnosis. 

"On account of the short time available, and the extensive ground 
to be covered, the study had to be limited to what was most essential 
toward obtaining reliable statistics. In the smaller tribes, as the Hupa 
and the Mohave, nearly all the dwellings were visited, and all the members 
of the tribe who were not far distant were studied. In the larger tribes, 




as the Menominee and the Oglala, the examinations were limited to one 
hundred families. Among the Oglala, these one hundred families included 
only full-bloods, who in this tribe suffer more from tuberculosis than do the 
half-breeds. 

"The actual work consisted in visiting the dwellings consecutively 
and making a personal examination of each member of every family, 
healthy or not healthy. In many families absent members were brought 
from many miles away by the Indians themselves for examination. This 
examination embraced the lungs, heart, glands of the neck, and skeleton, 
and was supplemented by inquiries. * * * 



270 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



"The investigation was everywhere promoted by the Indians them- 
selves, who welcomed an inquiry into the disease which is deciminating 
them, the gravity of which they well appreciate, but against which they 
feel utterly helpless." * * * * 

He found the Oglala Sioux, of Pine Ridge reservation, numbering 
6,663, very susceptible to tuberculosis; the number of individuals in a 
thousand affected with pulmonary tuberculosis being 30.8, bones and 
joints 6.8, and glandular 57.7. The highest number of persons suffering 
from this disease was found among theHupa Indians of California, where the 
number of individuals per thousand arose to 60.4, pulmonary tuberculosis. 

"In regard to civilization, the Oglala are in the transition period, 
which generally means partial degeneration. They live in small or fair- 
sized log houses of one room, each provided with one or two small windows 
that are never opened. The houses have earthen floors and sod roofs. 
In summer almost every family constructs from poles and boughs, or from 
young pine trees, a more or less open shelter in which, while it is warm, 
they spend most of their time. Usually, each family has also a light, 
easily portable tent, which represents the ancient tipi. These tents are 
erected near the house and are occupied by the aged, by some relative or 
visitor of the family, or serve to sleep in. When the family leaves home, 
such a tent is packed, together with bedding, kitchen utensils, etc., into 
the wagon, and is pitched whenever a stop is made for the night. Indeed, 
there will be at times one or more villages of these tents near the agency, 
or about a house where some particular feast is being given. In summer 
these tents are oppressively hot during the day, though they become cool 
if the sides are raised. As they are made of very light fabric, they are 
cold at night, and afford but poor protection during a severe rain or hail 
storm, as the writer personally experienced. * * * 

"As to clothing, the Oglala now dress like the Whites in most respects, 
though the majority still persist in wearing moccasins. The women wear 
leggings and always a blanket or shawl when going about. A tendency 
to wear too much clothing, even on the hottest day, was again noticed 
and is very prevalent. This is due partly to ignorance and partly to vanity. 
The garments are usually far from clean. The writer learned of several 
instances in which the clothing of tuberculous persons was given or sold 
to others. 

"In diet the Sioux are chiefly meat eaters, the principal kind of meat 
consumed being beef. They cook this fresh, or cut it into strips and dry 
it on cords stretched outside their dwellings. Other common articles of 
diet are badly made wheat bread and large quantities of coffee. When they 



HEALTH OF THE INDIANS 



271 



have money they purchase crackers and canned foods. They eat very 
irregularly, both as to time and quantity. During feasts and when visitors 
are present, they not infrequently use the same wooden spoon or other 
utensil, one after another, and eat from the same dish, the bones and 
other remnants being freely strewn over the floor. 

"In many of the dwellings it was seen that the denizens lack in both 
quantity and quality of food on account of their poverty. * * * Numerous 
cases were seen where the whole meal consisted of a few crackers and 
black coffee. In several instances cattle which had died of disease had 
been consumed, both flesh and viscera. According to the resident physi- 
cian, Doctor Walker, the Oglala eat not only cattle but even horses and 
dogs that die of disease. The people are not emaciated; in fact, many 
look well nourished. Yet there is no doubt that many do not receive, 
except on rare occasions, all the nourishment they require. This doubt- 
less induces indolence and disease. It. would also strongly promote the 
spread of alcoholism, but fortunately there are very few chances for ob- 
taining liquor on or near the reservation. 

"Few of the Oglala men have any steady occupation. They do very 
little farming. During the summer they cut some hay in the valleys, 
which brings fair prices. Cattle and horses are being distributed by the 
Government to the different families, and stock-raising is being encouraged 
with some success. * * * 

"The people of this tribe are quite shrewd, tractable, and glad to be 
instructed, though the instruction given does not always have practical 
results. Their most striking peculiarities are the above-mentioned tend- 
ency to a seminomadic life and the disinclination to steady manual work. 
They are very ignorant of all matters regarding hygiene. One of the 
most reprehensible customs among them is the so-called 'passing of the 
pipe.' Whenever a number of men have gathered in a house, there is 
passed from mouth to mouth a lighted pipe, the mouthpiece of which is 
never cleaned. As there is often in such a group an individual in the earlier 
stages of consumption, the habit must be regarded as providing a direct 
mode of infection with the disease."* 

This description of the Oglala Sioux by Doctor Hrdlicka, who is one 
of our most expert and competent scientists, might well be applied to 
other bands and tribes of Indians in the transition period. As has been 
suggested elsewhere, it emphasizes the immediate need of larger appro- 
priations, the employment of numerous physicians and sanitary officials, 
if we would save the full-blood Indians. 



* Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 42, Washington, 1909. Pages 11-14. 



A TUBERCULOSIS PATIENT. BEDDING COVERED WITH FLIES 



HEALTH OF THE INDIANS 



273 



Dr. Joseph A. Murphy is medical supervisor of the Indian Service, 
and a more competent man cannot be found. I have received a number 
of reports covering his activities the past two years. That the Indians 
are suffering, is no fault of Dr. Murphy's, or his assistants. He has re- 
cently established hospitals and increased the medical corps. If the present 
ratio of increase in physicians and buildings continues, much alleviation 
will result. 

Dark as is our picture, recently it has become brighter. The past 
two years conditions have greatly improved. There are more adequate 
appropriations. But this realization of our responsibilities at a late day, 
does not absolve us from past responsibility. We had been repeatedly 
told — nay, warned of the consequences, yet we continued our "same 
old story, in the same old way," until the white people living in Indian 
communities complained. Now, when Indians complain we pay little 
heed, but when the representatives of the white people cry, "menace to 
public health", we heed and we speedily send help to allay the fears of 
the good and substantial citizens. The appeal from Macedonia is not 
uttered in vain. 

We now have hospitals building, and they may take care of a third 
of the sick. We also enforce stricter sanitary laws. So we may look for- 
ward to saving some of those who suffer from the "coughing sickness", 
and as to the other scourge, it is so contagious that heroic measures have 
been adopted, and the light will not go out forever from Indian childrens' 
eyes. 

I present two field reports, sent by competent observers who traveled 
extensively in Wisconsin and Oklahoma, and both of whom have long 
resided among Indians there. 

"When I came to the Lake Superior country in 1878, I found the 
Indians of Lac Courte Oreille Reservation and of Lac du Flambeau, living 
almost entirely in birch-bark wigwams, also in Bad River Reserve, near 
Ashland, Wis. In Courte Oreille, I counted about six log houses, mostly 
inhabited by French half-breeds. In Bad River Reserve (now Odanah) 
perhaps about the same number; in Lac du Flambeau also about six log 
houses. But as soon as the Indians got their pine-money and their allot- 
ments, they immediately began to build houses, many of which were large 
and commodious. Others were of hewn logs, rather small and low and 
very unhealthy on that account, as there was very little ventilation, and 
in the winter they would be huddled together, most of them sleeping on 
the floor in a blanket, or poor bedclothes. The stove was very hot until 
after the fire went out, when, of course, towards morning they would be 



274 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



shivering with the cold. Cooking, smoking, living, in such a small room 
would naturally cause colds, and consumption. This may be justly called 
the Indian s Disease, as it is the most common sickness of which they die; 
they generally die of consumption, brought on by their total disregard of 
the laws of health. Sugar-making early in spring, when they used to 
gather the maple-sap in the woods, walking in the wet snow and cold water, 
shod with soft moccasins, made of deerskin, and not much better than 
common stockings; then went the whole day with wet feet — this no 
doubt laid for many, the seeds of future consumption. Then, gathering 
cranberries in swamps, wading in the water for hours and hours, was also 
highly unhealthy. Their cooking was also very poor. Bread, tea, and 
pork their principal food, the bread badly made, hard and heavy. The 
Indian's natural home is the woods, like that of the deer; the white man's 
natural home is the clearing, in open country. Civilization is coming on 
the Indian too fast — it effeminates and weakens him. The Indian woman 
is naturally industrious, the Indian man is lazy; that's about the way to 
put it. 

4 'The Franciscans in California solved the Indian problem in the 
best and most practical way : they first made Christians — and then civil- 
ized the people." 

Correspondent, Bayfield, Wis. 

"Surrounded by wretched conditions, it is not surprising that the 
incidence of tuberculosis, trachoma, and other diseases is large among 
these Indians. Although tuberculosis can hardly be considered as preva- 
lent here as among some of the other reservation tribes, it nevertheless 
occurs to an alarming extent. It appears to be more prevalent in some 
localities than in others, and, in some sections, seems to be on the increase. 
The home conditions of many of these Indians are such that, if a case of 
tuberculosis or other infectious disease occurs in a household, the prob- 
ability is that the disease will, in time, go through the entire family. 

"During my drive among the Cherokee full-bloods, probably forty 
families were visited, many of which either have, or have not, one or more 
cases of tuberculosis. In the vicinity of Barber, twenty miles from Tale- 
quah, there occurred three deaths from tuberculosis within three weeks 
of the time of my visit. Two of the cases, one a baby in the arms and the 
other a woman, the head of the family, were seen by me. The latter case 
was particularly pathetic and deserves special mention. The sick woman, 
dying of tuberculosis, was found in the one room of the house, which, though 
small, illy ventilated, and poorly lighted, was occupied by nine other 



HEALTH OF THE INDIANS 



275 



people, including six small children. Being wholly ignorant of the dangerous 
and infectious nature of the disease, this condition continued until the 
death of the patient, which occurred two weeks later. Another family 
visited, had lost three members from tuberculosis within the past few 
years. 

"When the housing conditions encountered here are taken into con- 
sideration, it seems remarkable that tuberculosis does not spread among 
the people even more rapidly than it does. This can be partially explained, 
however, by the fact that they are sometimes widely scattered, the houses, 
in many instances, being several miles apart. 




NATIONAL INDIAN ASSOCIATION HOSPITAL AT 
INDIAN WELLS, ARIZONA 



"In another family near the little village of Eucha, a girl fourteen or 
fifteen years of age was seen to wipe her trachomatous eyes with the end 
of a shawl, worn about her mother's head. The mother held a young baby 
in her arms, and it would seem that a failure to infect the baby's eyes with 
the contaminated shawl would be nothing short of marvelous. 

"The civilizing influences that surround these people are far from 
good. The class of people that are frequently found as neighbors are a 
shiftless, undesirable class. These Whites live amidst unsanitary, meagre 
surroundings. It is due to this class of citizens that the use of cocaine 
has of recent years assumed alarming proportions. This habit has become 



276 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



quite common among the full-bioods in some sections, and I heard of 
several deaths that were attributed directly to this cause. 

" The use of alcoholic liquor is, no doubt, a positive detriment to the 
Choctaw Indians, particularly in those districts close to the Arkansas 
border. Many crimes have been committed among the Indians that can 
be attributed directly to the use of liquor, given to them by unscrupulous 
bootleggers from across the border. 

"Trachoma appears to be even more universal among the Creeks 
and Seminoles than it is among the Indians farther south, and many cases 
are observed. Trachoma is, no doubt, a positive menace to the usefulness 




INDIAN CABIN, NORTH DAKOTA 

Six of the seven inmates had trachoma 



and well-being of many of these people, and should be met by a vigorous 
campaign for its control. 

"The native medicine man appears to play a more important part 
among the Creeks and Seminoles than among the other Indians of the 
Five Civilized Tribes. The full-blood Indians seldom call on the local 
white physician for treatment, but depend almost entirely upon their own 
medicine men, and the use of patent remedies, purchased at the local 
country stores. Several bottles of a patent consumption "cure" were 
seen in a number of homes visited. 

"After a careful survey of the conditions existing among the full- 
blood Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes, it seems highly important that 



HEALTH OF THE INDIANS 



277 



there should be a well-organized system of medical treatment provided. 
Tuberculosis and trachoma, the two most important diseases to be corn- 
batted among Indians generally prevail among these people to an alarming 
extent, and both appear to be steadily on the increase. It is unquestionably 
true that many of these Indians sicken and die without any medical aid 
whatever. Many of them are too poor to employ white physicians, with 
the result that the physician is either not called at all, or only when it is 
too late to be of any avail. 

"Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the need for hospital 
facilities for these Indians. There is, at present, no place available in which 
to place the needy sick except in local city hospitals. This necessarily 
entails considerable expense on the individual and, in many instances, 
there is a prejudice against going away from their homes to enter a strange 
hospital. The several sanitariums throughout the Service are usually 
already filled beyond their capacity, and it is seldom possible to secure 
their admission to the institutions. 

"In view of the extremely unsanitary conditions existing in many of 
the full-blood homes throughout the Five Civilized Tribes, it would appear 
that field matrons would here find a large field for usefulness. The people 
with whom she comes in contact are easy of approach and tractable. They 
are also readily susceptible to teaching, and would, no doubt, welcome 
the assistance that the field matron would be able to give." 

Correspondent, Muskogee, Okla. 

Five Civilized Tribes. Reports of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs, 1893-1905. 

Health Conditions Among Indians. — Edgar B. Meritt. The Red Man. May, 1914. P. 347. 

Tuberculosis, Saving Indians from. — Frank H. Wright. Twenty-fifth Annual Report Lake Mohonk Conference 
1907. P. 38. 

Sanitary Homes for Indians. — Edgar B. Meritt. The Red Man. June, 1912. P. 439. 

Sanitorium Schools: Fort Lapwai, East Farm, Laquna (Tuberculosis Sanitorium), Toledo. From Articles pp. 
356, 362, 368, 385, The Red Man. May, 1914. 

Indian Medical Service, Organizing the.— J. A . Murphy. Twenty-seventh Annual Report Lake Mohonk Con- 
ference, 1909. P. 23. 

"White Plague" of Red Man.— George P. Donehoo, D.D. The Red Man. September, 1912. P. 3. 

The Trachoma Problem.— W. H. Harrison, M.D. The Red Man. May, 1914. P. 377. 

Tuberculosis Problem, Important Phases of. — Dr. F. Shoemaker. The Red Man. May, 1914. P. 351. 

Indian Tuberculosis Sanitarium and Yakima Indian Reservation. — Congressional Record, 63rd Congress. Dec. 
20, 1913. 




REV. SHERMAN COOLIDGE; ARAPAHO 

Missionary at Fort Washakie, Wyoming 



CHAPTER XXVII. THE INDIAN'S RELIGION; HIS CHARACTER; 
PHILANTHROPIC ORGANIZATIONS 

Since 1850, the Indian's belief in the hereafter has undergone a very 
marked change. It is extremely difficult to find individuals, among most 
of our tribes, who can give us any clear conception of the Indian's religious 
belief. The Navaho preserve much of their original religion, for the reason 
that these Indians have been remote from contact with the Whites. As 
has been stated in this book, the greater part of the 28,000 Navaho do 
not speak English and continue in the faith of their fathers. There are 
also scattered tribes or bands of other Indians who keep up, to a greater 
or less degree, their religious belief, have confidence in their shamans, and 
resort to the white men's ministers and doctors only under compulsion. 
But while this is true, the vast bulk of our Indians today have adopted 
the God of our Bible, and recognize his opposite, the evil spirit. If one 
takes the pains to read a number of the reports of competent ethnologists 
who have studied the religious activities of various tribes recently, one 
is impressed with the complications presented. In fact, it is no reflection 
on these able and competent workers and observers to state that it is 
extremely difficult (if not impossible) to cover the Indian's religious belief 
in one blanket paragraph or statement. Beliefs vary among different 
tribes, and we must go far back of the year 1850 would we find primitive 
American religion, practiced in its purity. We cannot now affirm that the 
religious life of all tribes is the same; that the deities and spirits are alike. 

Generally throughout the United States the tradition of the Thunder 
Bird obtains, and it typifies the supernatural. In the desert areas, water 
is more precious than soil, or any other necessity. It is therefore quite 
natural that the Earth Mother and Water Spirit enter very largely into the 
religion of that region. Some of the older Sioux, even in recent times, 
believed in spirits, or ghosts, and any Sioux man or woman having heard 
the calling of the ghosts at night, prepared himself (or herself) to join his 
ancestors in the spirit world. Major McLaughlin presents one or two 
instances in his book* where Indians have actually given up, taken to 
their beds and died, firm in the belief that the ghosts were calling. 

Doctor Eastman in his remarkable book, "The Soul of the Indian," 
defines that indefinite thing, the belief in the supernatural, in a beautiful 
and striking manner. 



* My Friend the Indian, Pages 80, 242, 245. 



280 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The whole subject of religion among Indian tribes comprehends 
mythology, shamanism, totemism, and the taboo. There is so great 
variance among the different linguistic stocks as to belief in the super- 
natural, religious rites and incantations, that one must study extensively 
did one desire to obtain any clear conception of ancient Indian religion. 
In fact, the subject is so beset by uncertainties that we may well omit a 
consideration of it from this volume. Pure Indian religion — generally 
speaking — does not exist in the transition period of today. 

We may defer to scientific workers the conflicting beliefs among 
Indians of the present. The labors of the missionaries, both Catholic and 
Protestant, have instilled into the minds of the Indians the teaching of our 
Scriptures. Missionary labors, having continued for more than two cen- 
turies, (and three centuries in some parts of the country) have had their 
effect, and as I stated above, the Indian today believes as do ourselves. iVs I 
pointed out in referring to Miss Densmore's excellent study of Ojibwa 
music {page 20) all the investigators invariably seek out the older Indians 
and glean from them such fragments as remain of the Indians' former 
faith. We never hear of ethnologists talking to educated Indians, and 
recording their opinions. 

Among the Navaho, the taboo is more strongly pronounced than, 
possibly, among other tribes. The totem and the phratry doubtless had 
their origin in certain religious beliefs. But these are not observed today, 
to any appreciable extent outside of the Navaho and the scattered bands 
referred to. We must consider, in studying the Indian of the transition 
period, not the exceptions, but that which predominates. This has been 
my aim. Many of the lesser important customs and taboo (bordering 
upon the religious side of the Indians' nature) obtain. As an illustration, 
the taboo against the mother-in-law is still in effect in many places. Also, 
certain rites are performed when a death occurs. Such are clearly survivals 
of more primitive beliefs. 

In a general review of the Indians' religion it must be admitted that 
while our missionaries and teachers have converted thousands of Indians 
and these are today faithful members of churches and missions, it is doubt- 
ful if the bulk of our 330,000 red brothers has been improved spiritually 
by contact with the white people. I have presented sufficient number of 
specific instances in this book to prove that where they meet one missionary, 
priest or teacher, they come in contact with a dozen white persons ranking 
spiritually and morally far below American standards. 

Along with the Indian's religion, he possessed a high sense of honor, 
or responsibility, and integrity. Judge Thomas, long a resident of 



RELIGION AND CHARACTER 



281 



Oklahoma, informed me of cases wherein Indians under sentence of death, 
were permitted by the authorities to visit distant villages for a few days. 
There are a number of such instances on record. The Indians invariably 
returned and were executed according to law. This occurred many years 
ago. If any modern Indian, or white man under sentence of death, was 
released by the authorities, it is doubtful if he would consider himself 
bound to keep his word. 

Because the Indian was cruel to his enemies, it does not necessarily 
follow that he was bad. Among every band there were bad and wild 
young men who could not be restrained. This has been admitted in the 
testimony of Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, and many other prominent Indians. 
Red Cloud, from the Indian point of view, considered it no more cruel to 
kill his enemies than for us to compel people to work as slaves. He heard 
we made women and children labor from daylight to dark. This, as well 
as our long hours for mill-hands and laborers, he considered cruelty. He 
indicated this in a conversation with me many years ago. One of the 
prominent Southwestern Indians, when asked by Colonel Dodge, "Why 
are you Indians so cruel?" cited many things of common occurrence among 
white people which were considered perfectly proper by them, but which 
the Indians would not tolerate. It all depends on one's point of view. In 
condemning Indians for cruelties, we must remember that the patriarchs 
of the Old Testament, in the name of religion, destroyed more innocent 
persons in a few of their wars than have the Indians in all of their wars. 

I do not agree with the widespread belief that through our general 
education of Indians, we have raised their moral and religious tone. We 
have improved some thousands, but the greater number of Indians, ob- 
serving from the treatment accorded them that we do not practice what we 
preach, have less realization of their responsibilities and exhibit less in- 
tegrity than formerly. A letter addressed to the average Indian trader 
who has done business with Indians more than twenty years, will bring 
a reply to the effect that their business obligations were more faithfully 
kept in the past than at present. 

As to missionary endeavor among the Indians during the past sixty 
years, I find that there are upwards of fifty Protestant denominations 
who maintain mission stations in various parts of the Indian country. 
These include every denomination, but those most prominent are the 
Presbyterians, Baptists, Friends, Congregationalists, Methodists, Episco- 
palians, Moravians, Lutherans. In addition there are the Home Missionary 
Associations (interdenominational) and the National Indian Association. 
It is impracticable to present details of their work. The National Indian 



282 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 

Association is one of the strongest of these bodies, and was organized 
thirty-five years ago. It has fifty-two stations scattered throughout the 
West, and some idea of its good work may be had by the illustration pre- 
sented of the Good Samaritan hospital maintained at Indian Wells. Arizona. 

(page 275) 

The educational and humanitarian work of the Association has been 
the helping to right political wrongs; gathering of Indian children into 
schools: stimulating and preparing capable Indians for wise leadership 
among their people: loans of money to Indians to enable them to build 
homes or to carry on business. The Association has done a large and 
influential educational work, and through its Home Building and Loan 
Department has enabled Indians to build homes which have become 
civilizing centers of family life. It has also made loans to Indians for the 
purchase of implements of labor or for stock needed to begin some useful 
and paying industry. By such methods the Association seeks to put the 
Indian in a position to earn his own living and to become self-supporting 
and self-reliant. It has maintained library, temperance, hospital, and 
other departments: trained Indian young women as nurses, and assisted 
Indian young men and women to obtain training as physicians and teachers, 
some of whom have long been working to help their own people. The 
Cambridge 'Mass.) branch of this organization is especially active and has 
contributed generously. The work of the missions maintained by the 
Congregationalists. Episcopalians. Baptists. Methodists, etc., compre- 
hends general religious education and charitable work among the Indians. 

Rev. Thomas C. Moffett. Chairman of the committee on Indian work 
of the 44 home missions council", has just published an interesting book 
entitled. "The American Indian on the Xew Trail.'' This presents an 
excellent review of missionary labors among Indians, including much of 
a statistical character. The review is broad, and covers the entire United 
States. 

The Bureau of Catholic Missions. Washington, has in charge the many 
missions maintained by the Catholics. I have visited a number of these 
in various parts of the West, along with the Protestant missions, and find 
most of them well equipped and doing splendid work. 

The California Indian Association has concerned itself more with the 
securing of homes for dispossessed Indians. In Chapter XXXI, dealing 
with California conditions, the secretary, Mr. C. E. Kelsey, has com- 
mented on the work of the association. 

The Indian Rights Association is the most famous of all the benevolent 
organizations. Organized in 188 w 2. its work has grown and expanded until 



RELIGION AND CHARACTER 283 



at the present time its activities cover most of the reservations of the 
United States. It has frequently been in sharp conflict with the Indian 
Office, but at the present time the relations between Commissioner Sells 
and his able assistants and this and other organizations, are most friendly 
and helpful. The pamphlet, covering the activities of the organization, 
the number of steals of land it has prevented, the reforms instituted, dis- 
honest employees forced out of the Service and all other recommendations, 
covers some hundred or more instances and places. 

Its corresponding secretary, Mr. Mathew K. Sniffen, returned from 
Alaska in September of this year, after having spent three months investi- 
gating the most deplorable condition of the Alaska Indians. 

The Indian Industries League of Boston was organized in 1901 and 
has done much to encourage arts and industries among certain Indian 
tribes. It does not attempt to do missionary work, although it has edu- 
cated a number of Indians. In recent years the League has held fairs 
and disposed of large quantities of blankets, baskets, bead work, etc., thus 
aiding many old Indian women in New Mexico, California, Washington 
and elsewhere. 

I have always been a believer in the work of these organizations, 
and I have no criticism, but rather a suggestion to offer. The missionary 
and other organizations had a great opportunity for good during the 
Messiah craze, and with one accord they let it pass. At the Lake Mohonk 
Conference this year, a minister from South Dakota spoke of the evil 
effects of the Messiah craze. In Chapters IX-XI I have described it. 
There were no evil effects until the troops and Sitting Bull dominated. 
Had the missionaries seized upon the religious mania when it began, they 
might have turned it to good account. It was, at first, a purely religious 
ceremony of high and noble type. 

Among the Indians of Oklahoma there is great religious activity. 
Last year I met many native preachers, and heard of numerous meetings 
at various campgrounds. I was surprised at the extent of these, and the 
number of Indians attending such gatherings. The meetings may be a 
trifle sentimental, but the intentions of the worshippers are excellent. 
Here is presented a great field for missionary labors, and if the good people 
would take full advantage of it, a lasting impression and the furtherance 
of religious activity would ensue. 

The modern missionary spirit among most of the workers in the field 
has changed in recent years. There is more medical activity, more endeavor 
to stimulate interest in fairs, school exhibitions, etc. Thus the Indians 
are brought nearer the real life and spirit of the missions, than in the older 



284 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



days where on stated intervals they were assembled for worship. Aside 
from mere biblical instruction little was done for them. This was all 
right and proper, but the Indian needed more. 

The most potent influence in shaping public opinion, with reference 
to Indian affairs the past thirty years, has been the annual Conference 
of Eriends of the Indian and Other Dependent Peoples held each year 
at Lake Mohonk. This was begun in 1882 by Honorable Albert K. Smiley. 
Since Mr. Smiley's death, the conferences are continued by Honorable 
Daniel Smiley. 

At these conferences are assembled men and women from the United 
States, Europe and Canada interested in Indian affairs, the Philippines, 
etc. The conference consists of addresses by persons familiar with Indian 
topics, which are followed by general discussion. For two or three years 
the conference seemed to its friends to be somewhat dominated by the 
Indian Office, but a few years ago it became again a real open parliament. 
Conflicting views are often expressed, and both the dark and the bright 
sides of our Indian picture are presented. The conference last year was 
devoted almost exclusively to a discussion of Oklahoma affairs. 

An annual report is published and circulated throughout the world. 
The meetings have been productive of a great deal of good. Those who 
attend are invited as the personal guests of Mr. and Mrs. Smiley and 
enjoy the privileges of their magnificent estate in the heart of the Catskills, 
while attending the conference. 

The Society of American Indians was organized at Ohio State Uni- 
versity in 1911. It came into being in response to a feeling on the part 
of the educated Indians of the country that the "Indian problem" could 
best be solved through an awakening of the race itself, through its leaders, 
in cooperation with white friends. 

The organization of the society is due to the efforts of Prof. F. A. 
McKenzie of Ohio State University. The founders of the Society were 
such men and women as Dr. Charles A. Eastman (Sioux), Dr. Carlos 
Montezuma (Apache), Rev. Sherman Coolidge (Arapaho), Laura Cornelius 
(Oneida), Henry Standing Bear (Sioux), Charles E. Dagenett (Peoria), 
Rosa B. LaFlesche (Chippewa), Arthur C. Parker (Seneca), Thomas L. 
Sloan (Omaha), Emma D. Goulette (Pottawatomie), Marie L. Bald- 
win (Chippewa), Henry Roe-Cloud (Winnebago), and Hiram Chase 
(Omaha) . 

The high stand taken by the Society and its elimination of all selfish 
motives led to an unqualified endorsement of its objects by the most 
earnest friends of the Indian in this country and in Europe. 



RELIGION AND CHARACTER 



285 



The Society though only four years old has a membership of about 
1500. Hundreds of the most progressive Indians in the country are mem- 
bers and almost all trades and professions are represented. More than 
500 citizens of the white race, including both men and women, are associate 
members of the Society. Most of them have for years demonstrated their 
earnest and unselfish interest in the welfare of the Indian and have now 
united their interests with the Indian. 

The Society is not connected with any other organization. It is 
governed entirely by its own membership and has no connection with the 
Indian Bureau or the Government. Indians and their friends of every 
shade of opinion are members. 

The Society of American Indians seeks to bring about better con- 
ditions so that the Indian may develop normally as an American people 
in America. The Society has asserted that it believes that the full response 
to the duties of life is more important than constant demands for rights; 
for with the performance of duties, rights will come as a matter of course. 
The Society thus seeks to urge the Indian to avail himself of every oppor- 
tunity to learn the ways of "civilized" life, in order that he may become 
able to compete and cooperate successfully with other men. The members 
believe Indian progress depends upon awakening the abilities of every in- 
dividual Indian to the realization of personal responsibility, for self, for race 
and for country, and the duty of responding to the call to activity. When the 
nation remedies the laws now hindering Indian progress, work, thrift, 
education and clean morals will then secure for the Indian all the rights 
that may be given a man and a citizen. 

The Society is not an organization devoted to complaining. Its aim 
is to suggest and bring about better conditions wherein the old evils cannot 
exist. The Society does not seek to continually fight over local matters; 
it does seek to abolish the cause of the misery and the disability of the 
race. It strikes at the root of evil, yet it does not ignore the individual case 
of injustice. Nearly one hundred applications each month come from 
Indians asking legal information. 

The annual platform adopted by the Denver Conference and reaffirmed 
at the Wisconsin University Conference in 1914 demands: First, the 
passage of the Carter Code Bill, by which a commission will draft a codified 
law, recommend new legislation and the abolition of laws no longer opera- 
tive; and the establishment of the definite status of every tribe, band or 
group of Indians in the United States. The Indian cannot progress until 
he knows his legal status and how he may advance from a lower to a higher 
civic status; Second, the Society demands the passage of the amended 



286 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Stephens Bill, through which the Indians may place their claims directly 
in the Court of Claims without specific permission of Congress in each 
instance. Indian progress will be retarded as long as real or fancied claims 
against the Government are unsettled; Third, the Society asks that the 
tribal funds be apportioned to each individual's personal account, so that 
each Indian may know exactly what the nation holds in trust for him. 
Individual effort and progress will come with an awakened interest in 
personal resources and personal property, as opposed to bulk holdings; 
Fourth, better educational advantages and better sanitary protection are 
demanded. An ignorant and a sick race cannot be an efficient, useful race. 
Wisdom, health and thrift will bring to the red man the greater rights he 
craves. 

The Society publishes a Quarterly Journal of unique interest. It 
contains contributions from the pens of Indians who have the true welfare 
of the race at heart, and from friends of the red man who have a constructive 
message. All shades of thought are given. The discussion is open, free 
and earnest. The editorial board consists of five Indians who are university 
graduates. The editor-general is connected officially with the University 
of the State of New York. The Quarterly Journal is a high-grade publi- 
cation, and is an epoch-making departure in the history of the race. 

There are three general classes of membership, Active, Associate, and 
Junior. Active members are persons of Indian blood; Associates are 
persons not Indians; Juniors are persons less than twenty-one years of age. 

Each year a national conference is held at some convenient point, 
and in connection with some great university. Four successful conferences 
have been held. Each has been of great importance to the Indian race and 
has assisted materially in bringing the Indian problem to a point where 
it is nearer solution. 

The old-time, non-English-speaking Indian was reverent towards the 
"unknown" or mystery. He did not blaspheme. "Why do the white 
men ask the Great Spirit to curse them so often?" This was uttered by a 
pagan, White Head, a Cheyenne chief, in the presence of Col. Carrington 
at Fort Phil Kearney in 1866. 

There were a vast number of good traits in the old Indian and we 
must not overlook them. Mr. Wright {page 314) has referred to theft. 
They stole from other tribes — that was proper — but not from each 
other. Frankness was a trait everywhere apparent, and Indians spoke 
their minds freely. Deceit was for the enemy — deceit as to trail, purpose, 
trade and so forth. Among themselves (in the tribe) there was no such 
thing as trickery. Exaggerations were indulged in by story-tellers, of 



RELIGION AND CHARACTER 



287 



course. But such deceit as white people practice upon each other was 
unknown in the olden days. 

All the writers, past and present, agree that the bulk of our Indians 
were governed by certain moral codes. There never was a real degenerate 
among Indians, until white people came among them. In all our efforts 
to uplift the Indian during the present crucial transition period, we should 
encourage those good qualities (even though they be tinged with super- 
stition) . We should build upon the natural foundation of Indian character. 
If we utterly destroy the past, we cannot save the Indian. 

I am no idealist. I am quite aware that there are good Indians and 
bad Indians, as there are good white people and bad white people; but 
I contend that if there is a general breaking down of the Indian character — - 
which may or may not be true — it is due to us and not to the Indian. 

As to his sense of honor, and his morality, Leupp presents the follow- 
ing:— 

4 'Has the Indian a basic sense of moral responsibility sufficiently robust 
to be capable of high religious development? Let me tell you a true story. 
A number of years ago a group of twenty Indians who had been in con- 
troversy with the authorities in Washington entered into a solemn pact 
not to accept certain money which the Government was preparing to 
distribute among their tribe in three or four successive payments, because 
they believed that that would be a surrender of the principle for which they 
had been contending. Later the questions at issue were cleared up by a 
judicial decision which left the Indians' protest not a leg to stand on. 
Nineteen of the twenty, including a candidate for the chiefship who had 
led the party into their attempt at resistance, bowed to the inevitable, 
took the money offered them at the next payment, and applied for the 
instalments then in arrears. The twentieth man, whose English name 
was Bill, stood out alone in his refusal to touch anything, but refused to 
tell why. Soon afterward I visited the reservation on business, and he 
sought me privately and opened his heart. He was poor, and his family 
were actually in need of some things the money would buy; so I tried to 
make him feel more comfortable by assuring him that the withdrawal of 
the others from their mutual agreement left him free to do as he wished. 

" 'No,' he declared; adding, in a phraseology which I shall not try to 
imitate, 'we are all bound by a vow. I swore that I would not take my 
share of that money, and I must not. The others may change if they 
choose, but they cannot release me from my oath.' 

" 'That is honorable, certainly,' I answered; 'but if you feel so strongly 
about it, why did you come to me for advice?' 



288 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



" 'There is something you can tell me, and I am afraid to trust the 
others. I vowed for myself and not for my family, though they have not 
drawn their shares either. Now, can they get their money even if I don't 
touch mine?' 

"I said that I could get it for them. 

" 'What becomes of my money if I don't take it?' 

" 'It will accumulate in the Treasury, and be paid to your heirs after 
your death.' 

" 'You have made my heart glad,' exclaimed Bill, laying his hand 
affectionately on my shoulder while his face beamed with satisfaction. 
'That is the way I would have it. I felt right in standing out, but I did 
not want my wife and children to suffer if I were wrong.' 

"A cynic might find the moral of this story to be that only one Indian 
in twenty is high-minded enough to hold his ground against such temptation. 
But it would be fairer to temper that judgment with the inquiry, how 
the proportions would have arranged themselves in a like number of any 
other race?"* 

Two years ago, when the Board of United States Indian Commissioners 
met in Washington, the representatives of practically all the missionary 
organizations appeared and a full and frank discussion ensued. It is no 
exaggeration to state that all of these persons representing varied interests 
(and twenty years ago these very people might have been considered 
rivals) left with a resolve to carry on their work with due regard for the 
rights of others. It is quite clear that if the Catholics have a success- 
ful mission on Reservation A, and the Presbyterians on Reservation B, 
that the good work should continue, and those in charge of mission A 
should not seek to establish a post on Reservation B, unless it is perfectly 
clear that Mission B is unable to care for more than a portion of the 
Indians. That where different denominations are located on the larger 
reservations, they should all work in harmony, looking toward the great 
purpose for which such worthy organizations exist. 

It is true that the Indians in former years did not understand our 
religion, and that confusion existed in the minds of the untutored abo- 
rigines in the past for the very reason that representatives of different 
sects worked at cross-purposes. This is said in no disrespect whatsoever, 
it is merely a statement of facts. Mr. Leupp presents an illuminating 
illustration on this subject. 

"Indians are always greatly puzzled by the differences between the 
sects, and the appearance of hostility so often assumed by one toward 



* The Indian and His Problem, page 303. 



RELIGION AND CHARACTER 



289 



another. It has little effect to assure them that all the sects are but parts 
of one religious body, worshipping the same deity. Doctrinal subtleties 
are of course beyond the reach of the ordinary Indian's mind, but in matters 
of discipline he discovers what seem to him serious incongruities. An 
old chief once expressed to me his deep concern because a missionary 
had warned his children that they would be punished after death if they 
broke the Sabbath with their accustomed games, yet he had seen with 
his own eyes a missionary playing tennis on Sunday. Another raised in 
my presence, with a sly suggestion of satire' in his tone, the question of 
marriage. One missionary, he told us — referring to a visit from a Mormon 
apostle several years before — had four wives, and said it was good in the 
sight of the white man's God; the missionary who preached at the agency 
school had only one wife, and said that that was all right, but it would be 
wicked for him to marry any more; but the priest who came once in a 
while to bless the children had no wife at all, and said that the white 
man's God would be displeased with him if he took even one."* 

The powerful missionary organizations, comprising as they do, hun- 
dreds of earnest workers, will accomplish much more for "Indian uplift" 
if they devote their energies to "pagan Whites ' as well as to the pagan 
Indians. The worst people I have met had white, and not red skins. 
These men swarm about all Indian communities. Enough evidence against 
their character has been brought before the benevolent organizations and 
Washington, to convince the most skeptical. Suppose the Indians of 
a certain region were found to be swindling each other, importing whiskey, 
gambling, stealing and committing all sorts of crimes. Immediately half 
a dozen organizations would raise funds and send their best workers to 
"lead the pagans from darkness into light." It has been clearly shown 
that the worst elements of our white race are responsible for the deplorable 
condition of thousands of Indians. Yet, I fail to observe any concerted 
effort to check this evil at its source. No one seems to realize that the 
"pagan White" is vastly more in need of reformation than his red brother. 
We have tried to save the Indian — meanwhile permitting whiskey and 
graft, immorality and greed, to continue virtually unchecked. We tell 
him to be upright, yet we surround him by examples of civilization, the 
antithesis of that which we preach. No wonder the Indian loses faith in 
us and our culture. Some wealthy man or woman will do the Indian a 
great and good service by liberally endowing a score of missions to labor 
among the "pagan Whites", living near (or in) Indian communities. 



* Page 296. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. IRRIGATION PROJECTS 



The Indians of the Southwest in both ancient and modern times built 
dams, dug irrigation canals and watered certain tracts more or less exten- 
sive in area. The subject of agriculture as conducted in arid regions by the 
Indiana is an exceedingly interesting one and has been treated briefly by 
Doctor Hodge in the Handbook of American Indians. Many of the modern 
canals in Arizona, New Mexico and California follow the old ditches dug 
by the Cliff Dwellers, Pueblos and other tribes. Excepting the Apaches 
and Comanches, probably all southwestern Indians understood and made 
use of irrigation in the raising of crops. 

Some of the military and scientific expeditions to the Southwest in 
early times found the Pima, Maricopa, Papago, Pueblo and other Indians 
in possession of large, cultivated fields. With the influx of white settlers 
in the later '70's and early '80's, not only was much of this land appro- 
priated by the Whites, but the water was diverted, thus causing the Indians 
great privations. I have referred elsewhere in this book to the case of the 
Pimas, and that of the Maricopas, Yumas and Pueblos, and it has been 
commented upon in a score of reports. Briefly summed up, we have 
well-nigh destroyed (or rather appropriated) the entire irrigation zone 
formerly controlled by the Indians. Their fields and ditches have passed 
to us. 

A movement has been inaugurated to save what little remains. In this 
humane work the Indian Rights Association and the Board of Indian 
Commissioners, as well as the Indian Office, have all played prominent 
parts. When Hon. F. H. Abbott became acting Commissioner he made a 
study of this subject, and later, as Secretary of the Board of Indian Com- 
missioners, he prepared an exhaustive paper entitled, "Briefs on Indian 
Irrigation and Indian Forests." This was presented to the Senate Com- 
mittee on Indian Affairs, February 9th, 1914. It covers the entire irrigation 
problem, and I insert most of it herewith. 

"The proposed amendment relating to Indian irrigation, you will 
observe, is sweeping in character. Its main and central purpose is to stop 
the gratuitous use of tribal and Government funds in the construction 
and maintenance of irrigation projects, to charge the costs thereof against 
the lands benefited or against the pro rata shares in the tribal funds, when 
distributed, of the individual Indians whose lands are benefited, and to 
give the Indians a voice in the expenditure of their own funds for irrigation 
purposes and make them share the responsibility of maintaining and 



292 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



operating the completed projects. If this amendment is enacted into law 
nearly $400,000 carried each year in the Indian appropriation acts as 
gratuity items will become reimbursable. The facts relating to existing 
irrigation law and practice and arguments in support of the proposed 
amendment are fully elaborated in the brief submitted herewith, to which 
I invite your careful attention. 

"The proposed amendment relating to the care, protection, and sale 
of Indian timber is also supported by a carefully prepared statement, 
herewith submitted. This amendment, if enacted into law, will save the 
Government in the neighborhood of $75,000 a year. * * * * 

"The difficulties of the complex problems relating to the education 
and civilization of the Indians of this country and to the handling of their 
vast property resources are increasing in direct ratio with the increase in 
the value of that property and the individualization thereof. 

"The eyes cannot be closed to the constantly increasing adminis- 
trative burdens of the Indian Bureau. This increase can not be explained 
away on the ground of alleged bad administration; it is due, in large part, 
to the carrying out of laws enacted by Congress for the breaking up of 
the vast tribal estates of the Indians and to the establishment of the policy 
of individualization in connection therewith. Before the volume of the 
business of the Indian Bureau will begin to grow less, it will become very 
much greater; and the value of Indian property over which the Indian 
Bureau is required by law to exercise supervision, now estimated at nearly 
one billion dollars, will undoubtedly be very much greater before it begins 
to grow less. 

"How is the Government going to meet this growing problem? Will 
Congress increase appropriations to meet the increased demands imposed 
by law and changing economic conditions upon the Indian Bureau? Is 
there any other way out? 

"Those who answer by saying, 'Give the Indians immediate citizen- 
ship and full control of their property and thus keep down the appro- 
priations for Indian administration,' offer a correct solution only for that 
class of Indians who are sufficiently educated and advanced in civilization 
to accept the full responsibility for handling their property. Accepting 
this solution for that class of Indians — and it is undoubtedly the correct 
solution for this class — it still remains true that the increasing value of 
the lands and minerals and forests on Indian reservations which are still 
closed to settlement, and of the property of individual Indians who are still 
unprepared to protect it, and the future individual allotment of lands to 
nearly 50 per cent of the Indians of the country, will make the adminis- 



IRRIGATION PROJECTS 



293 



tration of Indian Affairs for some years to come one of increasing difficulty 
and expense. * * * * 

"The reclamation of arid lands on Indian reservations by irrigation, 
to provide better homes for Indian families, and to bring to them the benefits 
of civilized society through the agricultural development of their lands, 
is one of the most beneficent policies the Government has ever inaugurated 
in dealing with their affairs. Too much credit can not be given to Senators 
and Congressmen and administrative officers of the Government who 
have had to do with the enactment of laws and the securing of appro- 
priations to carry out this policy. The motives of legislators have been 
benevolent and patriotic, and the work of the Government engineers and 
other officials who have constructed the projects has been honest and 
comparatively efficient and economical. However, a careful examination 
of Indian irrigation laws and conditions prevailing in connection with their 
administration reveals defects which need remedy. It is no reflection upon 
the high motives of those responsible for present law and present con- 
ditions that these defects exist. It was a new legislative and adminis- 
trative field. Irrigation laws were not uniform in the several States. Con- 
ditions varied on different Indian reservations. The legislation was 
necessarily experimental. Nevertheless, the defects are serious, they 
should be faced frankly, and the remedies needed should be applied promptly 
to preserve the good in the existing order of things and eliminate the bad 
before greater harm results. 

"Lack of uniformity in Indian irrigation laws, lack of utilization by 
Indians of their irrigated lands, lack of a voice on the part of the Indians 
in the expenditure of their funds for the construction and maintenance of 
their irrigation projects, and failure to individualize the reclamation costs 
by charging them against the lands benefited are the most serious funda- 
mental defects of the present situation. 

"Approximately nine million dollars have been expended for the 
irrigation of Indian lands. About seven millions of this amount have been 
charged to tribal funds and the balance expended from gratuity appro- 
priations made by Congress. About 600,000 acres of irrigable Indian 
lands have been brought under ditch. Of this area less than 100,000 acres 
are being irrigated by Indians, while a large part of the area thus irrigated 
is not farmed, but is used to produce hay crops. And, notwithstanding 
the fact that either tribal or Government funds have been used to irrigate 
these lands, on all except three reservations, when patents in fee are issued 
to Indian allottees, and in every case where their lands are sold under the 
supervision of the Government, either the individual Indian who sells the 



294 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



land or the purchaser thereof puts in his pocket the value of the water 
right for which the tribe or the Government has paid; and not only are the 
members of the tribe not consulted with respect to the expenditure of 
their money, which ultimately passes in this manner either to the individual 
allottee or to the white purchaser of his land, but the individual whose 
land is benefited is given no opportunity to assume any responsibility in 
connection therewith or to appreciate the value of the benefit conferred,, 
while the free- water right thus secured by the individual Indian offers a 
constant inducement to him to part with his land. 




XAVAHO HOME. NEW MEXICO 

"Some striking illustrations of the lack of utilization of irrigable 
Indian lands may be found on the following reservations: On the Crow 
Reservation, where irrigation ditches have been completed for more than 
ten years and where the total area under constructed ditches is estimated 
at 68.756 acres, only 11.376 acres are irrigated by Indians, and most of 
this is irrigated for hay crops: on the Flathead Reservation the present 
irrigable area is estimated at 38.000 acres, but only LOSS acres are irrigated 
by Indians: on the Fort Belknap Reservation, out of 22,000 acres under 



IRRIGATION PROJECTS 



295 



ditch, 7,670 acres are irrigated by Indians; on Fort Hall Reservation Indians 
irrigate only 3,300 acres out of present irrigable area of 35,000 acres; on 
the Wind River Reservation the Indians are irrigating approximately 
5,000 acres out of a total irrigable area of 35,000 acres, and most of this 
area is irrigated for hay crops; on the Uintah Reservation, out of a total 
irrigable area of 87,880 acres the Indians are irrigating approximately 6,000 
acres; on the Yakima Reservation, where the present irrigable area is 
54,000 acres, the Indians are irrigating 5,350 acres; and at Yuma the 
Indians are irrigating approximately 200 acres out of an irrigable area 
of 4,000 acres. In the reservations of the Southwest the showing of utiliza- 
tion of irrigable lands is very much better. 

"The lack of utilization noted in the foregoing paragraph is serious 
enough from an industrial standpoint, but it is fraught with peculiar dangers 
in the case of the reservations where the water rights are subject to the 
operation of State law. On the Fort Hall Reservation (Idaho) beneficial 
use must be made of the water for the irrigable lands prior to the year 
1916, in order to prevent the appropriation of the water by other water 
users; on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming beneficial use must 
likewise be made before 1916; and on the Uintah Reservation (Utah) 
beneficial use must be made before 1919. The total investment in the 
construction of irrigation ditches and the purchase of water rights on these 
three reservations amounts to approximately $2,000,000, and in the case 
of the Wind River and Uintah Reservations the expenditure has been 
made from Indian funds. 

"Lack of proper utilization can not be charged to the indolence of 
the Indian. The present system is doubtless responsible for an undue lack 
of interest and indifference on his part. He has not been consulted in ad- 
vance of the expenditure; the cost of the construction and the expense of 
maintenance on the basis of each acre irrigated have not been explained 
and brought home to him; the money being taken out of a tribal fund which 
has never become a part of his individual possession, he has not under- 
stood his intimate individual interest in its expenditure, nor has he realized 
the value, in dollars and cents, of the benefit. 

"In many cases irrigation on Indian reservations has been provided 
for in response to a perfectly natural and normal demand of white settlers, 
either for the opening to settlement of irrigable lands on Indian reserva- 
tions or for obtaining water from streams flowing through Indian reser- 
vations for the irrigation of their lands on the outside. As a result, the 
construction of irrigation projects on Indian reservations has often preceded 
the proper preparation of the Indians for such construction and often has 



296 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



preceded the development of transportation facilities necessary to market 
the products of the land irrigated, and in the case of the large reservations 
in the Northwest irrigation has been brought to Indians unskilled in the 
art of irrigation, strangers to the art of agriculture, trained for generations 
to the exciting life of the chase, having no knowledge of any of the pursuits 
of modern civilized life except a somewhat general knowledge of the raising 
of cattle and horses. Generally, however, this premature development 
of irrigation has had sufficient justification in the necessity of such develop- 
ment to preserve the rights of the Indians to the water. 

"One of the chief reasons for the failure of the Indians on the reserva- 
tions mentioned to utilize their irrigable lands has been the failure to 
provide appropriations necessary to enable them to buy teams and tools 
and other equipment, without which the utilization of their lands is im- 
possible. The main thought apparently has been to build the ditches, 
and with rare exceptions no provision has been made to use tribal funds 
for any other purpose than that of reimbursing the Government for the 
cost of construction of the project. At the same time the Indian has lacked 
the credit which is available to the white settler living under similar con- 
ditions necessary to help himself. Through the policy of reimbursable 
appropriations established during the last few years Congress has begun 
to prepare a remedy for these conditions. But on a majority of the reser- 
vations mentioned above, Indians are still in a position where they have 
to sit idly by and witness the expenditure of their own funds in the con- 
struction and maintenance of irrigation ditches which, under present 
conditions, they cannot use and in which expenditures they have no voice 
— helpless, though they have more than ample resources in their un- 
developed lands to secure money advances necessary to make productive 
use thereof. 

"Another reason for the lack of adequate utilization of Indian lands 
may be found in the failure to adjust the size of the allotment of irrigable 
land to the conditions of soil and climate and the industrial habits and 
needs of the Indians. While in the Southwest, on the Colorado River and 
Yuma Reservations and several others, allotments have been made in 
10-acre tracts, and in some cases smaller, suitable to the methods of in- 
tensive agriculture practiced in that section of country, this policy has 
been lacking almost universally in the reservations of the Northwest, where 
in most cases allotment has been made under the general allotment act, 
which did not take into consideration the question of possible irrigation. 
The allotment of 80 acres to each man, woman, and child is found under 
the irrigation projects on the Yakima, Uintah, Crow, Wind River, Flat- 



IRRIGATION PROJECTS 



297 



head, and Southern Ute (diminished) Reservations while on Blackfeet and 
Fort Peck the size of the allotment is 40 acres, and on Fort Hall 40 acres 
to each head of a family and 20 acres to each other member of the tribe. 
Take the Uintah and Wind River Reservations, for example, where bene- 
ficial use is required by State law in order to protect the water rights The 
average family of five members would have 400 acres of irrigable land. 
The average white family in the same section of the country can not utilize 
satisfactorily over 80, or at the most 160, acres of the same land. How 
can an Indian family unassisted, and especially without money or credit 
to buy tools and equipment, be expected to reclaim 400 acres of land? 




RINCON RESERVATION, MISSION INDIANS, CALIFORNIA 
Grandfather blind (trachoma). Both children infected 



" In striking contrast with the lack of agricultural development on 
irrigated Indian reservations, under the present system, is the marked 
development of agriculture during the last few years on a number of reser- 
vations in the regions of normal rainfall where Indians have had control 
of their own funds and the responsibility of expending them in the im- 
provement and development of their lands, under the guidance of practical 
Indian Service farmers. 



298 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



"The remedies needed will be suggested briefly, as follows: 

"1. General legislation that will charge the individual land benefited 
with the cost of construction and maintenance, payment to be made out 
of the share in the tribal funds of the individual whose land in benefited 
or from the proceeds of the sale of the land when it passes from Indian 
ownership where the share of the individual in the tribal fund is insufficient. 

"2. The general legislation suggested in the above paragraph should 
provide that the tribe whose funds it is proposed to use for the construction 
of irrigation projects shall be first consulted. 

"3. The proposed general legislation should also provide for charging 
of costs of maintenance and operation against the lands under the project 
and should give the Indians whose lands are benefited a voice in said main- 
tenance and operation. 

"4. In order not to overburden irrigated Indian lands by the legis- 
lation suggested, especially since the Indians have not heretofore been 
consulted, the costs of supervisory engineering and of experimental con- 
struction and cost of investigations and preliminary surveys should be 
excluded from the charges made against the lands and paid from gratuity 
appropriations. 

"5. Reimbursable appropriations from tribal funds should be made 
immediately for all Indian reservations where the utilization of irrigable 
lands has not kept pace with the construction of irrigation projects through 
lack of funds in the hands of individual Indians to make such utilization 
possible. 

"6. Skilled irrigation farmers should be provided out of gratuity 
appropriations to give advice and assistance to Indians having irrigable 
lands." 



CHAPTER XXIX. THE BUFFALO 



The American bison, commonly called the buffalo, occupied an ex- 
tended area of the United States in ancient times. About 1850, the range 
of the buffalo extended from the Red River valley, Manitoba, to central 
Texas; through western and central Minnesota and as far west as the arid 
plains of Colorado, and to near the headwaters of the Missouri River in 
the Northwest. As settlers pushed west of the Mississippi, the buffalo 
disappeared from eastern Nebraska, Missouri and western Arkansas. The 
animal does not appear to have ranged in eastern Arkansas or Louisiana, 
preferring the portion of the country known as the Great Plains, and the 
entire Missouri River valley. In the later sixties, when the Union Pacific 
Railroad was built westward, hundreds of hunters were enabled to ship 
East unnumbered thousands of robes and great quantities of meat. The 
herds were further restricted, and by 1885, the buffalo almost entirely 
disappeared. 

Of the numbers of these animals, none of the authorities seem to 
agree. Robert M. Wright of Dodge City, Kansas, one of the earliest 
pioneers, recently published a book entitled "Dodge City, the Cowboy 
Capital." He gives the estimates prepared by men living at the time, as 
to the number of buffalo. I present his remarks at some length as indicative 
of the difference of opinion even among those familiar with the Great 
Plains, of their numerical extent. It is safe to assume, however, that there 
were between 25,000,000 and 50,000,000 buffalo in the West in the year 
1850. 

"I wish here to assert a few facts concerning game, and animal life in 
general, in early days, in the vicinity of Fort Dodge and Dodge City.* 
There were wonderful herds of buffalo, antelope, deer, elk, and wild horses, 
big gray wolves and coyotes by the thousand, hundreds of the latter fre- 
quently being seen in bands and often from ten to fifty gray wolves in a 
bunch. There were also black and cinnamon bears, wildcats and mountain 
lions, though these latter were scarce and seldom seen so far from the 
mountains. General Sheridan and Major Inman were occupying my office 
at Fort Dodge one night, having just made a trip from Fort Supply, and 
called me in to consult as to how many buffaloes there were between Dodge 
and Supply. Taking a strip fifty miles east and fifty miles west, they had 
first estimated it ten billion. General Sheridan said, 'That won't do.' 
They figured it again, and made it one billion. Finally they reached the 

* Pages 71-6. 



300 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



conclusion that there must be one hundred million; but said, they were 
afraid to give out these figures; nevertheless they believed them. This 
vast herd moved slowly toward the north when spring opened, and moved 
steadily back again from the north when the grass began to grow short, 
and winter was setting in. 

"Horace Greeley estimated the number of buffaloes at five million. 
I agree with him, only I think there were nearly five times that number. 
Mr. Greeley passed through herds of them twice. I lived in the heart of 
the buffalo range for nearly fifteen years. I am told that some recent 
writer, who has studied the buffalo closely, has placed their number at 
ninety million, and I think that he is nearer right than I. Brick Bond, 
a resident of Dodge, an old, experienced hunter, a great shot, a man of 
considerable intelligence and judgment, and a most reliable man as to 
truthfulness, says that he killed 1500 buffaloes in seven days, and his 
highest killing was 250 in one day; and he had to be on the lookout for hostile 
Indians all the time. He had fifteen "skinners," and he was only one of 
many hunters. 

"Charles Rath and I shipped over 200,000 buffalo hides the first 
winter the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad reached Dodge City, 
and I think there were at least as many more shipped from there, besides 
200 cars of hind-quarters and two cars of buffalo tongues." 

A Kansas newspaper (Dodge City Times, August 18th, 1877) remarks: 

"Dickinson County has a buffalo hunter by the name of Mr. Warnock, 
who has killed as high as 658 in one winter. — Edwards County Leader. 

"Oh, dear, what a mighty hunter! Ford County has twenty men who 
each have killed five times that many in one winter. The best on record, 
however, is that of Tom Nickson, who killed 120 at one stand in forty 
minutes, and who, from the 15th of September to the 20th of October, 
killed 2,173 buffaloes." 

Colonel Richard I. Dodge, who spent thirty years on the Plains, com- 
menting in 1880 on the value of the buffalo to the Indian, says: 

"It is almost impossible for a civilized being to realize the value to 
the Plains Indians of the buffalo. It furnished him with home, food, 
clothing, bedding, house equipment, almost everything. Without it he 
is poor as poverty itself, and on the verge of starvation. 

"Some years, as in 1871, the buffalo appeared to move northward in 
one immense column, oftentimes from twenty to fifty miles in width, and 
of unknown depth from front to rear. Other years the northward journey 
was made in several parallel columns, moving at the same rate and with 
their numerous flankers covering a width of a hundred or more miles. 



THE BUFFALO 



301 



"During the three years 1872-73-74, at least five millions of buffaloes 
were slaughtered for their hides. 

"This slaughter was all in violation of law, and in contravention of 
solemn treaties made with the Indians, but it was the duty of no special 
person to put a stop to it. The Indian Bureau made a feeble effort to keep 
the white hunters out of Indian Territory, but soon gave it up, and these 
parties spread all over the country, slaughtering the buffalo under the 
very noses of the Indians. 

"Ten years ago the Plains Indians had an ample supply of food, and 
could support life comfortably without the assistance of the Government. 
Now everything is gone, and they are reduced to the condition of paupers, 
without food, shelter, clothing, or any of those necessaries of life which came 
from the buffalo; and without friends, except the harpies, who, under the 
guise of friendship, feed upon them." 

The first trains on the Union Pacific Railway were frequently com- 
pelled to stop for one or two days until these immense herds had crossed 
the tracks. The Missouri River has been known to be filled with buffalo 
swimming across; a boat descending or ascending the river was compelled 
to wait a day or two for the herds to pass. Unnumbered thousands were 
drowned at the time of these crossings. Prairie fires must have destroyed 
multitudes of these animals. 

The American bison was very easily approached and killed, and a 
careful reading of the accounts of buffalo-hunts indicates that there was 
about as much real sport in the slaughter of these animals as in killing 
domesticated cattle. In fact, the long-horned Texas steer such as used to 
range the Southwest forty years ago, would probably afford more sport to 
men engaged in a "running hunt," than the buffalo. The latter were heavy, 
ponderous animals and save when stampeded, could be shot down from 
ambush. An "oldtimer", long on the Plains, told me that he frequently 
killed from fifty to seventy-five buffalo from one stand. He would secret 
himself on a little bluff, overlooking a ravine where the grass was excep- 
tionally good, and from this vantage-point, using a heavy Sharpes rifle, 
he shot down one after another. He stated that the bulls would walk up 
to a fallen animal, smell of the blood, paw the dirt, and perhaps bellow 
a little, but until the animals got scent of him, they would not move away. 
Professor William T. Hornaday in the United States National Museum 
Reports for 1887 and 1889 has given an extended account of the buffalo 
and its destruction. Catlin has presented us, in earlier years, of a stirring 
account of a buffalo-hunt. Coming down to later times, General Custer, 
Colonel William F. Cody and others have pictured the excitement of the 



THE BUFFALO 



303 



buffalo-chase. Colonel Cody, in fifteen months, according to his own 
admission, slaughtered 4280.* He thus obtained the name "Buffalo Bill." 

The senseless slaughter of this magnificent creature by thousands of 
hunters, frontiersmen, Bills and Dicks, and others between 1850 and 1880, 
soon brought about the near extinction of the species. A few were saved 
by Messrs. Allard and Conrad of Montana, the Canadian Government, our 
own Government, Colonel W. A. Jones (Buffalo Jones) and others. The 
late Senator Corbin secured a number of animals and shipped them to New 
Hampshire where a tract of several thousand acres was set aside as a park. 
All of these herds increased, and at the present time in the United States 
and Canada there must be nearly, if not quite, 1500 head. Thus the species 
is preserved. The Government had great difficulty in preventing poachers 
in Yellowstone Park from slaughtering the animals, and in the early nineties 
there were very few animals left alive. Public opinion has been aroused to 
the necessity of preserving this typically American animal, and it is now 
certain that the species will not become extinct. 

Buffalo Bill, not content with his records of "big killings", took 
numbers of bison East during the '80's. Of these, twenty fine specimens 
died of pleuro-pneumonia while his show was at Madison Square Garden, 
New York City, during the winter of 1886-'87. The last survivors of this 
magnificent creature were hauled about the country and exhibited before 
gaping crowds. At Newark, Ohio, in the early '80's, when a boy I attended 
Buffalo Bill's "Wild West Show". I shall ever remember my sensations 
when witnessing the "grand buffalo hunt". Three or four poor, old, 
scarred bison were driven into the fair-ground enclosure by some whooping 
cow-punchers. Buffalo Bill himself dashed up alongside the lumbering 
animals and from a Winchester repeater discharged numerous "blanks" 
into the already powder-burned sides of the helpless creatures. The crowd 
roared with appreciation, and as the cow-punchers pursued, and rounded 
up the hapless bison before the grandstand, Buffalo Bill reined in his 
steed, and spurring the horse (so he would prance), bowed right and left. 

Professor Hornady's report, together with other information, indicates 
that enough buffalo were carted about the East to have formed a very 
respectable herd — had they been permitted to remain in some favored 
spot in the buffalo country. 

The killing of the buffalo furnished employment for the type of men 
who usually flock to any frontier. There was more or less excitement in 
the chase, the animals were absolutely defenseless, the hides and meat 
could be sold. But for the hostility of the Plains tribes, the buffalo would 



* U. S. National Museum Report, 1887, page 478. 



304 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



long ago have disappeared. But when the Sioux, Pawnee, Cheyenne, 
Arapaho, Kiowa, Omaha and others saw that the Whites would destroy 
their means of sustenance, they inaugurated a campaign of hostility through- 
out the Great Plains and the Upper Missouri country, against the Whites. 

Certain communities where a large number of fearless men were 
assembled (such as Dodge City, Kansas,) became headquarters for the 
hunters, but the ranging of hunting parties throughout the entire West 
was restricted. This delayed the destruction of the buffalo. As I have 
stated, the coming of the railroad, and the subsequent building of other 
railroads, and steamboat navigation upon the Missouri, brought about 
curtailment of Indian activities and the ultimate destruction of the buffalo. 
I present a drawing from Wright's book in which are exhibited upwards 
of 40.000 buffalo hides stacked up in the corral at Dodge City.* This was 
in 1876. So many hides were shipped to the eastern market that the price 
fell to a dollar. Unnumbered thousands were sold at $1.25. I entered a 
furrier's store in Boston last winter and saw three buffalo robes offered for 
sale. The ordinary one was $75, another one was $100, and an extra fine 
robe was priced at $150. A few live buffalo were recently sold and the price 
was, I have been told, $1,000 each. 

The hide-hunters killed the animal for the robe, as the name implies, 
and left the carcass to rot. Sometimes men took neither the hides nor the 
tongues, but killed for the mere pleasure of slaughtering. 

It is not at all difficult for us to reconstruct the "good old buffalo 
days" among any of the tribes, from the Comanches of Texas to the Sioux 
of Minnesota. Many of the Indian bands followed the buffalo in its annual 
migration north or south, killing such of the animals as were needed for 
use and permitting the greater number to escape. There is no authentic 
account of early Indians slaughtering to satisfy a craving for blood. Indians 
sometimes killed enemies for the sheer love of slaughter, but the buffalo 
was not an enemy. Having obtained sufficient meat or hides, they simply 
quit, for they had not become "civilized". 

Let us imagine some village of the period between 1850 and 1865. 
There are numerous accounts of such, and we need read few of them to 
form an accurate, though composite picture. The camp is located in some 
favorite spot. Young men, out upon a scout, observe the approach of a 
great herd, and, lashing their ponies, speed back home with the welcome 
news. All is excitement in the village some twenty miles to the east. Im- 
mediately the village crier gallops from one end of the encampment to the 
other announcing that a buffalo dance is to be held that night. Every- 



* Page 182. 



THE BUFFALO 



305 



body prepares for the festive occasion; the shamans make their medicine; 
the buffalo dance paraphernalia is brought out, and until early morning 
hours the dance continues. 

Great merriment is caused when the better dancers try to outdo each 
other. Much feasting follows — for are they not soon to possess an abund- 
ance of meat? An old shaman appears; the dancers pause; he informs 
them that his medicine is "good." No enemies are near; the dreadful 
white hunters are not at hand; every lodge will secure at least three buffalo. 
Therefore, all must prepare and be ready to begin the hunt at daybreak. 

Shortly after sunrise a large portion of the Indians mounted on their 
most reliable "buffalo horses" (which have been trained to skillfully avoid 
the rushes of the bulls) pursue the herd. Each man selects a well-propor- 
tioned beast, and with rifle, arrow or lance, he brings him down. 

Now, hunting buffalo with the lance, or bow and arrow, was sport. 
The use of a rifle required no skill. With the lance, the hunter must ride 
up close, thrust the lance in and swing his pony suddenly to avoid the 
charge of any belligerent bull. The steel -pointed arrows must be shot at 
close range, and when the beast was "on the jump", in order that the 
arrow penetrate between the ribs to a vital part. Much of the arrow's 
force was lost, if it struck a rib. Hence, great skill on the hunter's part 
was required. He must shoot or thrust at the proper moment. This was 
true sport — just the opposite of still hunting, the favorite pastime of the 
pot-and-hide hunters; far more exciting than the work of such men as 
Buffalo Bill, who killed in order to make "big records". When Indians 
hunted, the women and children and older men followed along in the wake 
of the advance party, removed the hides and cut up the meat. 

Or, if the herd is a small one, it is surrounded by a large number of 
horsemen and forced to a common center. "Milling", the old frontiersmen 
used to call it. Indians ride furiously around the herd, making much noise, 
and the animals seeking to escape, crowd toward the center of the circle. 
Buffalo were often maimed or crushed as a result of this style of hunt. It 
afforded the Indians opportunity to shoot down a large number of animals 
before the buffalo ceased "milling" and fled in various directions. 

Again, small herds were run over precipices, or into ravines having 
steep sides. Sometimes they were pursued to the banks of the Missouri 
River and shot while swimming. 

Often from a village small parties of young men would go out on 
informal hunts, preceding which there was no special ceremony such as 
the buffalo dance. But as a rule, the hunts were more or less ceremonial 
affairs, or at least preceded by certain rites. The introduction of the 




THE HIDE HUNTER 



THE BUFFALO 



307 



Sharpes rifle, and later the Winchester, among the Indians, changed this 
style of hunt and many of the Indians followed the example of the white 
men and hunted individually, or in small groups, rather than tribally. 

Miss Alice C. Fletcher is considered an authority upon the Omaha 
and related tribes. Of the buffalo she says: — 

"Tribal regulations controlled the cutting up of the animal and the 
distribution of the parts. The skin and certain parts of the carcass be- 
longed to the man who had slain the buffalo; the remainder was divided 
according to certain fixed rules among the helpers, which afforded an 
opportunity for the poor and disabled to procure food. Butchering was 
generally done by men on the field, each man's portion being taken to his 
tent and given to the women as their property. 

"The buffalo was hunted in the winter by small, independent but 
organized parties, not subject to the ceremonial exactions of the tribal 
hunt. The pelts secured at this time were for bedding and for garments 
of extra weight and warmth. The texture of the buffalo hide did not admit 
of fine dressing, hence was used for coarse clothing, moccasins, tent covers, 
parfleche cases, and other articles. The hide of the heifer killed in the fall 
or early winter made the finest robe. 

"The buffalo was supposed to be the instructor of doctors who dealt 
with the treatment of wounds, teaching them in dreams where to find 
healing plants and the manner of their use. The multifarious benefits 
derived from the animal brought the buffalo into close touch with the people. 
It figured as a gentile totem, its appearance and movements were referred 
to in gentile names, its habits gave designations to the months, and it 
became the symbol of the leader and the type of long life and plenty; 
ceremonies were held in its honor, myths recounted its creation, and its 
folk-tales delighted old and young."* 

There were many separate uses to which the entire buffalo carcass was 
put. I have grouped them thus: — 



FLESH 

Ordinary food 
Dried for winter 
use 

Mixed (pounded) 
with other foods 



HIDE BONES 

House Shovels of shoulder- 

Bedding, blades 
Lariat Grooved adzes 

Trunk Scrapers 
Boat Flint-chippers 
Garments Spoons 
Leggins Needles 
Footwear Awls, etc. 

Skull for ceremonies 
Hoof-points for rattles 



HORNS 

Ornaments 
Cups 

Club-heads 



SINEWS 

Thread 

Bow-strings 

Ropes 



OTHER PARTS 

Tallow 

Pemmican 

Fuel 

Bladder (storage) 
Hair (Stuffings) 



* Handbook of American Indians. Vol. I, page 169. 



308 



THE AMERICAN IXDIAX 



It will thus be seen that he meant to many of the Plains tribes their 
very existence. The destruction of the buffalo meant the destruction of all. 
Indian chiefs were quick to foresee that if indiscriminate slaughter on the 
part of white people continued, the power of the Indian as a race was 
doomed. That is. of the Plains or "Horse" tribes. Our own army officers 
also were aware of this fact, and Custer. Miles. Sherman. Crook and others 
have stated in their reports that in order to bring the Plains Indians into 
subjection and control them on reservations, it was necessary to destroy 
the American bison. All the prominent Sioux. Cheyenne and other chiefs 
inspired their followers to continue the war against the white people, 
using as an incentive the phrase — "They are destroying the Indians' 
means of livelihood." Speeches of this character were always made in 
councils, or preceding war dances, and never failed to rouse a militant 
spirit . 

As the Indians became settled on reservations and attempted to 
provide themselves with meat, robes, dwellings, etc.. as formerly, they 
experienced great difficulty on account of the scarcity of the buffalo. It 
was very natural, therefore, for them to turn to the authorities at Wash- 
ington for support, since the authorities had permitted the hide-hunters, 
frontiersmen and numerous persons who flocked to the frontier at the close 
of the Civil War. to engage in lawless acts. These Indians were not agri- 
culturalists, and yet they had always supported themselves. Their inter- 
tribal wars, while at some times serious, never resulted in the total destruc- 
tion of a large band. In fact. too much has been made of the wars between 
the Crows and the Sioux, or the Ojibwa and the Sioux, or those between 
other bands. The existence that they led. in the good old buffalo days, was 
to them ideal. And from their point of view we must admit that they speak 
truly when they so declare. Many an old Indian has told me he would 
rather "take chances on a piece of lead" in olden times, than live as he 
does today. The effect of this lawless element on Indian life has been over- 
looked by other writers. They have minimized its pernicious effect. We 
know they were free from disease, until white men came among them; 
they desired nothing further than to be properly fed. clothed and housed. 
The destruction of the buffalo put an end to all of this, and the presence 
of the military further curtailed their activities. Hence the reservation 
and ration system sprang up. 

But it seems to me. we have all minimized one great truth. Having 
destroyed that which was the very life of these Indians, we should have 
given them something in its place. The Indian frequently asked for stock, 
but it was not until years afterwards that stock in any numbers was issued 



THE BUFFALO 



309 



to them. The issue of cattle to the Plains Indians was much curtailed 
because of reports from Agents and Superintendents, during the eighties, 
that the Indians killed much of this stock for food. All the Plains tribes 
were meat-eaters and not vegetarians. We could not expect them to live 
where there was no meat available, save their own cattle. Agriculture was 
(and among the Sioux, still is) in its infancy. 

A gentleman living in northern Nebraska, who has been familiar 
with the Sioux for forty years, writes me on this point as follows : — 




CREEK CHURCH AND CAMP-MEETING GROUND NEAR SYLVIAN, OKLAHOMA, 1913 



"On the spring round-up of the year that Major Clapp left Pine 
Ridge, (thirty years ago) these Indians branded over 16,000 calves; and 
horses dotted the hills in herds of from fifty to several hundred head each. 
At this time there are a few herds of small proportion, and the calves pro- 
duced by the entire four counties that originally comprised the reservation, 
is numbered by a paltry few hundred." 

What the Government did was to permit the destruction of the buffalo, 
corral the Indians, expect them to change from the chase to agriculture, 
or, it utterly destroyed their sustenance and commanded: — "Become 
as white men," all within one or two decades. This was, manifestly, 



310 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



impossible. The ration system was a necessity, not a mere gratuity, as so 
many of the writers have maintained. Without a ration system, these 
Indians would have starved to death. If large numbers of cattle had been 
issued them, and they had been compelled to save a certain portion of 
these for breeding purposes, and thus increased their herds, we should 
certainly have avoided a great deal of misery. 

Be this as it may, it is quite clear that the extinction of the bison 
worked a hardship not only to the Indians, but was a great monetary loss 
to our own nation. The frontier element responsible should have been 
controlled. Canada has not been cursed with the class of Bills and Dicks 
who roamed at will the Great Plains in our own country between 1850 
and 1880. Canada had, and has, a great many Indians in her northwestern 
possessions. Her white population was, numerically, far weaker than our 
own between these periods of time. Such a united band as Bed Cloud 
led against Fort Fetterman in 1866 could have utterly destroyed all the 
white settlers in western Canada were the chiefs so inclined. The very 
fact that they never attacked the Canadians, and that immediately south 
of the boundary between the two countries, bloodshed was rampant from 
1850 to 1880, indicates that the Canadian authorities adopted a much 
wiser policy than that followed by our easy-going officials at Washington. 
If we possessed a mounted police service such as that long ago established 
in the Canadian northwest, roving hunters, and undesirable citizens re- 
sponsible for most of the Indian wars, could have been held in check. 

As time passes, and men view dispassionately the events of the Plains, 
our historians will record that most of the wars had their origin with our- 
selves. The Indians never began them. 



CHAPTER XXX. THE PLAINS INDIANS FIFTY YEARS AGO 

AND TODAY 

Robert M. Wright, Esq., of Dodge City, Kansas, located in that State 
when a boy, in the early '50's. There are few men living at the present 
time who have had a more varied and interesting career. 

In Mr. Wright's recent book, ''Dodge City The Cowboy Capital", I 
was struck with its frankness. The book presents a true picture of life 
among buffalo-hunters, scouts, gamblers, stock-men and others. I wrote 
to this aged frontiersman and asked him to give me an absolute, frank 
opinion as to the cause of the Indian wars, and his views upon our Indian 
policy. In return he sent me a lengthy communication which illuminates 
events on the Plains between the years 1855 and 1890. 

Mr. Wright is one of the few living men who observed Indians from 
the pioneer point of view. Mr. Wright's observations, which he kindly 
furnished me, are the more important in that they are offered by one who 
has not held Indians in very high esteem. Mr. Wright saw some of his 
Warmest friends shot down during Indian raids. His narrative, if any- 
thing, should be rather prejudiced against the Indians. Yet it is not so, 
as will be observed by perusal of the following pages. 

Before presenting quotations from his manuscript I shall sum up 
briefly his general observations. Looking back upon a career of upwards 
of sixty years throughout the West (chiefly in Kansas and Nebraska,) 
Mr. Wright concludes that the Plains Indian was vastly better off when 
able to roam, unhampered by anyone, throughout the country, than at 
the present time. He speaks of the great and interesting Kiowa village 
located some distance from Dodge City about 1868. Living in central 
and southern Kansas, he came in contact, not so much with the Sioux, 
but with the Pawnees, who occupied the flat country, and the Horse 
Indians, which included the Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho and 
Prairie Apache. As to the wars among themselves, he thinks that the 
number of killed, or damage inflicted upon villages has been exaggerated. 
Usually, there were few casualties in these actions. Some writers might 
not agree with him, but this is his opinion. Occasionally, one band would 
surprise a village and take many captives and scalps. He was impressed 
in the early days with the good health of these Indians, their hardiness, 
and that they were seldom visited by epidemics. Smallpox broke out 
along the Missouri River, and to the east and north, but seldom in southern 
Kansas and northern Texas. He declares that there was no tuberculosis 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



or trachoma when he first went among these people. The general standard 
of character and virtue was much higher. 

"As has been said, the Indian was by nature a warrior and hunter, 
and was trained as such from earliest childhood. It is taken for granted, 
by the great mass of civilized peoples, that the uncivilized redskin had 
no idea of education. This is an error. For years. I was among the wild 
Indians of half a century ago. and I know from personal observation that 
they had as thorough a system of education for their children, in their 
line, as that boasted by the civilized white race. From the time the Indian 
child was able to walk, his or her education began. The first lesson usually 
consisted in being strapped upon the back of a docile pony and taking a 
little practice in riding. In the second step in education he was made to 
become familiar with the bow and arrow, which were the Indians' favorite 
weapons, half a century ago. At the age of five, perhaps, the father took 
the boy out upon the lulls adjoining the camp and admonished him to be 
observant of what he saw. Every ravine and hill, a buffalo skeleton, a 
rock or tree, a footprint in the sand or grass, the displacement of a stick 
or stone — all these things and many more a child must study and learn 
to notice. He must learn to readily detect the different marks on bows, 
arrows, and moccasins, distinguishing as to which tribe they belonged, 
as every tribe had a peculiar mark of its own for its manufactured articles. 
When the father and child came back to the tipi. after a day of observation, 
the child was required to give a description of what he had seen during 
the long tramp, the father or teacher questioning him. The child must 
give an intelligent and comprehensive account of his observations, or be 
taken over the same ground again and again until he could do so and had 
acquired a thorough knowledge of the territory covered. As soon as the 
child had familiarized himself minutely with one section of the country, 
he was taken to another and yet another,, until, finally he was intimately 
acquainted with all the territory adjacent to the camp. These same 
methods were employed in familiarizing the young Indian with more 
extended ranges of country until, at last, he thoroughly understood his 
surroundings for hundreds of miles. 

"But there were many other subjects in that course. For instance, 
the young Indian was expected to learn signalling, similar to that of our 
signal corps. Indians well versed in signalling could communicate ac- 
curately with each other though many miles apart. This knowledge was 
augmented by detailed instruction and chill in matters of war. the trail., 
and the chase. Some of the old-time scouts, who were with us. had been 
captured in childhood and raised and educated by the Indians. These 



THE PLAINS INDIANS 



313 



were as proficient in Indian tactics as the Indians themselves, and were 
very valuable to have along with a command in Indian campaigns as 
scouts and guides. They could follow up a trail, tell the number of ponies, 
give the number of Indians in the party being trailed, and, in fact, by their 
Indian lore, could know the movements of such a party about as well as 
those comprising it knew them. The Indian was as fond of his boys as 
any white father could be, and took pride in their training." 

Of the buffalo, he claims, as have all writers, that the very existence 
of the Plains Indians was threatened when that noble animal was ex- 
terminated. A great enmity sprang up between the Indians and the 
white hunters. 

4 'With this hatred and enmity, the Indian blended a certain fear of 
the white hunters, and to the credit of the redskin's courage it can be said 
that the hunters were the only class on earth that he did fear, while with 
his fear was mixed also a sort of desperation. The Indian hunted altogether 
on horseback, with bow and arrow or lance, which they planted in the side 
of the animal by riding up alongside of him. The Indians claimed they 
killed only for meat or robes, and, as soon as they had sufficient, they 
stopped and went home; whereas, the white hunters never knew when 
they had enough, and were continually harassing the buffaloes from every 
side, never giving the herds a chance to recover, but keeping up a continual 
pop-pop from their big guns. Only under the most favorable circumstances 
would the Indians attack the hunters. They were afraid of the latters' 
big guns, cool bravery, and, last but not least, of their unerring, deadly aim. 
The passing of the buffalo herds, because of the white men, was one of the 
prime causes of Indian hostility. 

"But the feeling over the buffalo was only one of the causes of the 
Plains wars. To understand other causes, one should consider the Indian 
as he was found by the first white men, and compare him with what he 
was after his association with the Whites for a term of years. It can clearly 
be seen, by such a comparison, that a great change took place, in that 
time, in the Indian's attitude and sentiments toward the Whites, and this 
change could not have been due to anything but the influence of association. 
The redskin acquired knowledge, also confidence in himself. Then followed 
hostile feelings awakened by the mismanagement and needless cruelty of 
the Whites. The Indian seemed to learn and adopt every vice of the 
Whites but not one of their virtues. 

"When I first crossed the Plains in 1859, we met several bands of 
Indians. In fact we struck about the first and much the biggest number 
at the great bend of the Arkansas River, a little east of where the town 



314 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



of Great Bend now stands and from there on we met them up to seventy- 
five miles west of old Fort Lyon in eastern Colorado. There was no military 
fort there then, nor any west of Fort Riley to Fort Garland in the moun- 
tains, and there was no need of any, for the Indians were supposed to be 
friendly, which indeed they were. This part of the country was the chief 
resort of the Kiowas, Comanches, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, and Prairie 
Apaches. Here, on the Arkansas River, near the present site of Great 
Bend, is where they all congregated. Up to 1864, all the Indians mentioned 
were considered peaceable and were so to a great extent. When they 
caught parties of Whites south of the Arkansas River (which was sacred 
ground to them, where no trespassers were allowed) there was trouble. 
Only traders were allowed in that region, and they had to be well known 
and familiar with the Indians to be safe. If an unknown trader ventured 
down there, he was stripped of his goods, whipped severely, often killed, 
and his wagons burned. But along the great Santa Fe Trail small parties 
of Whites, and even single individuals, went through without being 
molested, though I have seen these peaceable Indians, at such times, 
treated with the utmost contempt and actual abuse by the white 
travelers. 

"The propensity to beg or steal seemed born in the original Plains 
Indian. They made away with any portable article at hand from seemingly 
sheer love of theft. And beg! they would beg one blind! They wanted 
everything in sight, yet in early days, they made no disturbance if they 
were given nothing. It actually seemed as if an Indian could not help 
begging or stealing, but, instead of accepting this as a fact and treating 
it accordingly with wise leniency, the Whites made use of needless cruelty. 
When an Indian picked up something and hid it under his blanket to carry 
away, he was blacksnaked, or kicked out of camp. I once saw an Indian 
climb up on the hind wheel of a big freight wagon and lift up the wagon 
sheet. As he was peeping in, with his back bent and body exposed much 
as if he were bent over a barrel, a bull- whacker, with a big ox- whip, stood 
off ten feet and let him have it on the naked skin. That Indian dropped 
as if he were shot, with a gash where the lash struck as if a sharp knife had 
cut him. There were many other Indians in camp, and they all jumped 
up and halloed and laughed uproariously at the discomfited one, who 
crept humbly out of camp. Many indignities like this were given the 
Indians without their retaliating, even though there were often many more 
Indians than Whites in the party, which conclusively proves the superior 
peacefulness of the redskin. This was as late as 1863. But soon there 
came a change. 



OGLALA WOMAN 
Pine Ridge, 1909. Photographed by W. K. Moorehead 



THE PLAINS INDIANS 



315 



"The Indian wars of the Plains were more the result of a combination 
of causes, added to those already mentioned. First, our Government 
commenced a wishy-washy, desultory course with the Indians, instead 
of taking a bold, firm stand with them, and bringing out enough soldiers 
to overawe and make them respect the Government by showing them how 
strong it was, thus making them understand what to expect if they did 
not behave themselves. The Government policy was so weak at the 
beginning, that the Indians actually laughed at it and said: 'The Govern- 
ment is afraid of us; it dare not punish us'; and this was their real belief. 
I heard some Kiowas braggingly say, 'Why, we can whip the United 
States, for it has been fighting Texas for years and cannot whip her. We 
go and sweep down upon her settlements, kill, burn, and destroy, drive 
off stock, take women and children prisoners, and make the settlers glad 
to hide.' This was at the time of the Civil War, and the Kiowas thought 
the Government was fighting only Texas. 

"Now then, as I have said, the Government began with the Indians 
in a very feeble way and sent a few troops after them, which, of course, 
the Indians bested and forced to retreat. Then a large force was sent which 
also was beaten, and, after repeated little fights and skirmishes, large armies 
were sent out. Usually, however, the Indians got the best of the troops 
and were thus emboldened and given new confidence in themselves and 
their strength. 

"I have been a stockman all my life, and whenever my cattle became 
'breachy', if the break they made in my fence was poorly mended, it was 
broken through again and again. Each time we repaired the fence a little 
better than before, but each time, also, the cattle acquired fresh skill and 
force in breaking down the fence. At last, it was impossible to fix the 
fence in a way that my herds could not break through. If I had made 
the fence good and strong when first repairing it, the trouble would have 
been settled at once, and the cattle would never have broken it down the 
second time. A comparison between my haphazard fence and breachy 
cattle, and the Government's Indian policy of years ago is the most fitting 
I can make." 

Wright believes that the military authorities at Washington were 
rather responsible for continuation of an unwise policy toward the Indians, 
and is somewhat critical as to the plans of campaign. It was a great mis- 
take to send infantry against Indians, but this was repeatedly done. In 
the Fetterman massacre, the troops were infantry. The cavalry horses 
of the '60's and '70's were grain-fed, and extra large. Cavalry commands 
were accompanied by a wagon-train in which grain and hay were hauled. 



316 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Hence, prior to Custer's later campaigns, the American cavalry made little 
progress as against Indians. The latter went very light, carrying a little 
dried buffalo meat, guns and ammunition. Each Indian warrior always 
possessed an extra horse — his war pony — which was never ridden except 
in battle. He rode his ordinary pony, and led the other. In this way the 
Indian soldiers had an advantage over the white cavalry. Mr. Wright 
says that the Indians feared winter attacks on their camps. They seldom 
made war during cold weather. The warriors endeavored to lead the 
troops away from their permanent villages. 

"General Sully found this out, in 1868, when he supposed he was 
marching upon an Indian village from which the families had been removed 
and hidden in another direction, while the warriors led Sully on a wild- 
goose chase into the Wichita Mountains. It is a wonder his whole com- 
mand was not annihilated, and if he had followed the Indians a little 
further, not a soldier would have escaped, the trap was so well set. But 
Sully realized the danger just in time, turned around, got out of the moun- 
tains almost by a miracle, returning to Fort Dodge for reinforcements, 
with the Indians harassing him all the way back. This ambush and defeat 
was a source of great mortification to General Sully. General Custer 
then took the field with big reinforcements, and surprised the Indian camp 
on the W 7 ichita River; but, after the attack, Custer, too, was forced to 
beat a hasty retreat to Camp Supply, as he found himself greatly out- 
numbered — nearly ten to one. He inflicted on the Indians a severe 
punishment, taking nearly two hundred women and children prisoners, 
which greatly disheartened the Indians for a while. But this success was 
in the dead of winter, and might have resulted differently had it happened 
in the summer season, with the Indian fighting according to his views of 
proper war tactics. (See picture, page 302.) 

"It was a big mistake of the National Government to appoint civilians 
and representatives of different religious denominations as Government 
Agents. We should have appointed army officers instead, at a post where 
there was also an agency. This was merely a necessity of the times and 
conditions, clearly visible to anybody in the least acquainted with the 
needs of the situation. Soldiers were always stationed at an agency, the 
commander of that post was always subject to the orders of the Agent, 
a civilian often wholly unqualified to direct military movements or frontier 
exploits, and the ideas of commander and Agent were nearly always in 
conflict. The officer bitterly resented being subject to the Agent's orders 
and certainly the former, familiar as he was with the border and Indian, 
knew better than the Agent could know, coming as he did, as a rule, direct 



THE PLAINS INDIANS 



317 



from civilized centers. While treating them kindly and fairly, an army 
officer would have governed the Indian with a firm hand, and with none 
of the little less than criminal weakness displayed by many of the Agents. 
Moreover, most of the Agents were not good men, and not only robbed 
the Indian but starved him. I personally knew of graft practised by 
several Agents by which the Indian suffered greatly. Let me cite one of 
many instances of weakness that fell under my own observation. Mr. 
Darlington, Agent of the Cheyenne and Arapaho, was a good old Quaker, 
but weak and unsophisticated to a marked degree. I was sutler for the 
soldiers at this agency, and these Indians had stolen a lot of horses and 
mules from me. One issue day, the Indians rode in, and I saw several of 
my horses and mules, bearing my brand, among their stock. Now, the 
Indians who had possession of my horses belonged to Stone Calf's band. 
Stone Calf was one of the head chiefs of the Cheyennes, a man of more than 
ordinary intelligence, and a pretty truthful Indian. I went to Mr. Darling- 
ton, told my story, and asked him to recover my stock for me. He promised 
to do so, sent for Stone Calf, and said to him: 'This young man is truthful 
and honest, and he says you have a lot of his stock (describing the brand). 
Now, Stone Calf, you are a good, honest, truthful Indian, and I have 
always found you square; give this young man back his stock.' Stone 
Calf drew himself up with superb dignity and fairly breathed disdain at 
the Agent's suggestion. ' I have no doubt that this stock did belong to the 
young man,' he replied, 'but it belongs to me now. I took it when I was 
at war, and I never give back anything I take when I am at war.' That 
settled the matter and I never recovered my stock. An army officer in 
the Agent's place would have said: 'This stock belongs to Wright; give it 
up to him at once!' and he would have been obeyed and nothing more 
would have come of it. 

"Again, had military instead of civilian Agents been appointed, the 
wholesale robbery of the Indians already mentioned, and system of graft 
in general that went on would have been largely avoided, the Indian 
benefited, and trouble averted. Remote as he always was from surveillance, 
with large quantities of Government supplies entrusted to his care for the 
use of the Indians, the temptation to dishonest practices for private gain 
was great to every Agent. Mr. Darlington, already mentioned as Agent 
of the Cheyennes, was as honest an old man as ever lived and, being so, 
seemed to think everyone else honest too, but his employees stole from the 
Indians right and left, and robbed them right along, under his very eye, 
and he was not aware of what was going on. The graft of the agencies 
was notoriously well-known on the frontier, and many an Agent became 



318 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



actually rich from the spoils of his office. The Indians realized the state 
of affairs and resented it, and added it as another brand to the fire of their 
hostility against the Whites. The big old chief Red Cloud once said: 
'I don't see why the Government changes our Agents. When one Agent 
gets rich at his trade of looking after us and has about all he wants, he may 
stop his stealing and leave us the property which belongs to us, if he keeps 
his place. But when one man grows fat at our expense, he is removed 
and a lean man sent to take his place, and we must fill his belly till he is 
fat also, and give way to another lean one!' " 

Mr. Wright calls attention to the fact that the army officer was a 
better judge of human nature than the civilian and he further had the 
advantage of discipline. Surrounded as he was by numerous associates 
aspiring to promotion, he dared not steal Government supplies lest he be 
found out, and drummed out of the army. W T ith a civilian it was very 
different. 

''History gives no more striking example in proof of feeble Govern- 
mental policy with the Plains Indians in combination with the pitiful 
incapacity of some of the civilian Agents, than the story of the last Indian 
raid through western Kansas and Nebraska in 1878. It seems that for no 
better reason than that they wished to have all the Cheyenne Indians in 
one band, the Indian officials of the Government gave orders for the removal 
of the Northern Cheyennes from their agency in Dakota, to that of the 
Southern Cheyennes at Fort Reno, in what is now Oklahoma. The Northern 
Cheyennes did not wish to move and protested vigorously, but in vain. 
Being unused to the southern climate, it was not long after their arrival 
at Fort Reno, before malaria appeared among them, numbers became sick 
and many died. Terror-stricken at this almost unknown experience, they 
became possessed with the idea that the water they had to drink in the 
new country was poisoned, and that all would die if they remained. Going 
to the Agent, they begged to be allowed to return to their northern home, 
but were refused. Then provisions began to grow scarce. The Cheyennes 
applied to the Agent for permission to go on a buffalo hunt to gain food. 
Permission was granted, but the buffalo had been practically exterminated 
in that locality, and, though they hunted for days, not a buffalo could be 
found, and the poor savages were in worse condition than before. They 
were forced to kill their few scrawny ponies for meat to sustain life until 
they could return to the agency, and there they killed their dogs and lived 
upon them for a while. Again they begged to be permitted to return to 
the North, and again they were refused. In pity for their distress, however, 
the Commander of the fort gave orders that a small ration should be 



THE PLAINS INDIANS 



319 



distributed among them, but it is almost certain that a large portion of 
this was confiscated by unscrupulous assistants, and that very little of it 
ever reached the needy Indians. Their condition rendered them fairly 
desperate. They resolved to return to Dakota at any cost. 'We may as 
well die fighting,' said Dull Knife, the Cheyenne chief and leader, 4 as to 
stay here and die of starvation.' They began stealing and concealing 
guns, ammunition, and what provisions they could spare from their scanty 
stock. When ready to start, they stole horses, and, with a few mounted 
warriors, their foraging operations were rapidly extended until an abund- 
ance of mounts, arms, and provisions were obtained. Women and children 
took part in the exodus, and the march was very leisurely, but notwith- 
standing this fact, the troops sent in pursuit were defeated in battle about 
sixty miles from Reno, and afterwards proceeded in so careless a fashion, 
that the Indians were not again overtaken till they reached Sand Creek, 
about forty miles south of Dodge City. Here, however, the troops com- 
pletely surrounded the Indian camp and might have recaptured the fugitives 
with ease, but the superior cunning and energy of the Indians were here 
again strikingly apparent, for they managed to slip away in safety 
during the night, the soldiers not discovering the escape until two days 
after it occurred. The flight and leisurely pursuit was resumed, but the 
Indians had killed very few Whites until they reached White Woman 
creek in Western Kansas. Here they were again overtaken by the soldiers 
and an engagement fought. If Colonel Lewis, who had joined the pur- 
suing detachment with reinforcements, had not been killed, it is probable 
the Indians would have been defeated and recaptured, but the troops, 
deprived of a leader in Lewis's death, showed the white feather, and once 
more allowed the Cheyennes to slip away in safety. From thence onward, 
emboldened by success and filled with contempt for the W 7 hites by the 
indolence of the troops, the progress of the Indians was marked by horrible 
bloodshed and devastation. Their course was practically unchecked, and 
they reached the northern agency, at length, thus attaining the object 
of their expedition. 

"It was the Indian's nature to be cruel, and many of the conflicts 
between him and the Whites of the Plains were caused by the Whites' 
retaliatory measures for some atrocity born of Indian cruelty. On the 
other hand, as has already been hinted, many Indian cruelties arose from 
needless, petty cruelties and indignities, inflicted upon the latter by the 
Whites and afterwards avenged. These relations of hostility existed 
between the Indians and all classes of Whites on the Plains, excepting, 



BETTER CLASS OF FULL-BLOOD PLAINS INDIANS 
THIRTY YEARS AGO 



THE PLAINS INDIANS 



321 



possibly, the cowboy. He and the Indian had little to do with each other, 
therefore they had few encounters. 

"It is often asked — since the United States had so much trouble with 
her western Indians, why has Canada had no trouble with hers? There 
are several good reasons. First, Canada, from the start, had a better 
method of dealing with the Indians. She was firm with them, and never 
deviated in the least from this course. They were awed by the Canadian 
police, and it is a well-known fact that this mounted police really protected 
Canada's frontier. Whiskey peddlers, as well as fugitive criminals, knew 
this, and knew how firm and just these police were, and the Indians enter- 
tained the same feeling toward them. Second, the Canadian Government 
always strictly kept its word with the Indians and never broke its agree- 
ments with them. It invited and warranted their confidence. Moreover, 
the Indians claimed no land over in Canada, as they did in the United 
States, and their best reason for keeping peace with the former when at 
war with the latter, was that they might have a refuge at hand, to which 
to fly in times of need. When they crossed the Canadian line, they knew 
they were safe from hostile pursuit. It was a healthy country, well watered 
by clear, cold streams; mountainous, where Indians could easily hide 
when hard pressed. It had plenty of game lO sustain them, and beautiful, 
warm valleys, full of nutritious grasses and plenty of wood, where they 
could winter comfortably and feel in safety and at home. In summer it 
was an equally ideal place to live. It was also a place where they found 
a ready market for stolen horses and sold them to advantage. One may 
ask why they could not have selected Texas for like purposes. Well, for 
just the opposite reasons from those which led them to select Canada. 
Texas was much more unhealthy; they had always been at war with 
Texas, and besides, it was a glorious country upon which to forage. There 
they raided the frontier and not only got all the stock they wanted, but 
many other things that were useful to them. 

"One should consider the natural propensities of the American Indian, 
and be convinced that he was better off in his original state than at the 
present time, with all the so-called advantages civilization has brought 
him. This was especially true of the Plains Indian. By nature he was a 
nomad, a warrior, a hunter, living in the open air. Under conditions 
favoring this nature, he was a healthy, hardy, happy individual, like any 
product of natural growth; under the absolute reversal from this to con- 
ditions imposed upon him by civilization, he became diseased, debilitated, 
and inferior; as might be expected from any unnatural growth." 



322 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The Plains Indians of To-day 

Desiring to present a contrast between the past and present, in all 
its details, I wrote to numbers of missionaries among Indians, selecting 
those who had served for a long time. One of the missionaries on a large 
reservation where are located thousands of Sioux, answered me at length, 
and I present some of his recommendations. He speaks Sioux fluently. 
I have taken the liberty of changing a few expressions. His suggestions 
are brief, but contain much sound common sense. His letter was written 
in 1909, and some of the reforms he advocates have been inaugurated, 
but they have not been made general. This worthy missionary presents 
an accurate picture of conditions among the larger bands of Plains Indians 
(with some exceptions) at the present time. These Indians were entirely 
self-supporting forty years ago, and for their present deplorable condition, 
we, rather than they, are responsible. 

"What strikes one most of all is the great poverty of these people. 
The majority suffer very much from hunger, because they do not know how 
to make a living. But they could make a good living for themselves, we 
believe, if they would but plant a couple of acres, say one acre corn, one 
acre potatoes. However, most of them will never do so unless they are 
held down to it. It is useless to treat with them as with white adults. 
They are nothing but grown-up children, not knowing what they want, 
and above all not knowing what is good for them. For this reason we ought 
to have more farmers who would see to it that these things are done. 

"The Indian is a great traveller. Sometimes he does so for work, 
most generally for pleasure. Of what use is it to go to the railroad and 
work there for a few weeks, come back with little, find all his hay devoured 
by other people's stock, his own cattle and horses scattered over the country, 
and several head missing? 

''They should be supplied with seed in time; plenty but not many 
kinds, with the distinct understanding that they must pay for it before the 
next issue of money, or else it will be taken out of that. If they learn how 
to grow potatoes, corn and pumpkins or turnips, they have enough to 
start with. They ought to learn how to grind this corn and make corn- 
bread. If they raise corn, they could easily keep chickens, pigs, milk cows, 
and have butter and eggs and cheese, just what the consumptive needs. 
Of course it may be necessary before the crops are matured to issue rations 
until the harvest time comes, i. e., for a year or two. After that they 
ought to have enough provisions to last them the year around. Indians 



THE PLAINS INDIANS 



323 



ought to have facilities for buying pigs and chickens at ordinary market 
prices. In fact, they ought to be able to buy all their groceries at market 
prices. 

"Another hindrance is the habit of visiting. Some go away for months 
at a time on a visit. Horses, cattle, and all are left to themselves or the 
wolves. When some one is sick, even if only a baby, work is quit, relatives 
have to come from miles and miles, etc. Sometimes they will go off to the 
Crows, Arapahoes, etc., and get a present of horses. Chances are that the 
Crows will be back here next year getting another present. 

"A third hindrance is — to my mind — the method of work adopted 
here. (My intention is not to criticise but to offer a suggestion.) The 
Indians have to leave their homes and work on the roads for $1.25 per 
day. Consequently, they cannot look after their places nor take care of 
anything else. In the long run it is a loss. One head of stock lost at home, 
means one month's wages gone. Why could the Indians not make their 
money at home? Let them do the work that has been suggested, to culti- 
vate their fields, to plant, etc. ; have the District farmers control them and 
make payment for work done. Many of the thoughts above are the senti- 
ments of the better class of Indians, so you may be sure there will be little 
opposition on their part to putting these, or similar plans, into operation. 

"A fourth hindrance is the fact that so many go away to Buffalo Bill 
shows, etc., leaving wife, children and everything behind. When such 
an Indian gets back, some one else is liable to have his wife and cattle — 
not mentioning bad habits and shameful diseases he sometimes brings 
back. 

"But it is the old people that ought to arouse the sympathy of us all. 
They lie around in the utmost filth and neglect, eating old scraps, or swill; 
starving and freezing in spite of the fact that they draw rations. If they 
get help from anyone, it is devoured by the neighbors, and the poor old 
people have little benefit from it. 

"The children's lot is a hard one, too. If they live at home, they have 
to go through the rain, mud, cold, etc., to get to the day school. In many 
cases, the family must camp near the day-school. Then they have to neglect 
their own home entirely. 

"At present, the prevailing idea seems to be that the best way to do 
with the Indian now is to throw him upon his own resources. If the plan 
outlined above or something similar were carried out for a few years, one 
could do so. To do so at present would mean, I think, a slaughter, a 



324 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



massacre. Let a death come in his family and he may give away his last 
hoof. He may barter away every thing for a jug of whiskey. * * * * 
He is no match for the white man, especially when the latter is accom- 
panied by what the Sioux call "Holy Water," and therefore it would be 
nothing but murder to mix up the Indians with Whites too rapidly on 
this reservation. 

"The civilizing of the Indians is a slow process. When some change 
is going to be made it ought to be announced long ahead, and then the red 
man can prepare for it. Otherwise he is simply carried off his feet, dazed, 
doesn't know where to go, or what to do. It is all right to say, let those 
who do not want to work starve, but what about the innocent family, 
what about his 'sponging' on the others as they call it? One Indian cannot 
refuse another anything (especially as they are all relations) without being 
ostracized. 

44 1 note what you say about tuberculosis, and must say that the 
opposite ought to be true, but it is not, for many reasons, most of which 
are mentioned above. Were it not for their careless and dirty habits, 
their lack of food and proper care, they ought to be the strongest race on 
the face of the earth. By proper treatment many cases could be cured. 
As it is they all die. Two physicians cannot tend to everybody on so large 
a reservation and with their limited means. 

"These are a few things that I thought I should mention in order to 
fully answer your questions. By doing so, I did not in the least mean to 
criticise anyone in the Service, for I know that much has been tried and 
done in the past. Still I believe with the other missionaries, that the 
Indians can be saved if we try the methods suggested above or similar ones." 



CHAPTER XXXI. THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 



No scientist has devoted more time and study to the California 
Indians than Dr. A. L. Kroeber. In his description of California tribes 
and stocks, published in the Handbook of American Indians, he states 
that the California natives are rather shorter than the majority of those 
in eastern North America, and in the south, they are unusually dark. The 
astonishing characteristic of California Indians is their diversified lan- 
guages. There are twenty-one distinct linguistic families. The larger 
stocks such as the Athapascan, Shoshonean and Yuman have forced their 
way into the State, whereas the great majority are small bands and may 
be considered purely Californian. 

While pottery was practically unknown, textile arts (particularly 
basket-making) were very highly developed. "Houses were often made 
of grass, tule, or brush, or of bark, sometimes covered with earth. Only 
in the northwest part of the State were small houses of planks in use. In 
this region, as well as on the Santa Barbara islands, wooden canoes were 
also made, but over the greater part of the State a raft of tules was the 
only means of navigation. Agriculture was nowhere practised. Deer and 
small game were hunted, and there was considerable fishing; but the bulk 
of the food was vegetable. The main reliance was placed on numerous 
varieties of acorns, and next to these, on seeds, especially of grasses and 
herbs. Roots and berries were less used.* 

"Both totemism and a true gentile organization were totally lacking 
in all parts of the State. The mythology of the Californians was charac- 
terized by unusually well-developed and consistent creation myths, and 
by the complete lack not only of migration but of ancestor traditions. 
Their ceremonies were numerous and elaborate as compared with the 
prevailing simplicity of life, but they lacked almost totally the rigid ritualism 
and extensive symbolism that pervade the ceremonies of most of America. 
One set of ceremonies was usually connected with a secret religious society; 
another, often spectacular, was held in remembrance of the dead." 

We are concerned in this book with the condition of the California 
Indians the past sixty years. Without an exception on the American 
continent, there is no area in which the native population has so suddenly 
and generally diminished. The confiscation of the mission properties by 
the Mexican Government, followed by the great influx of gold-hunters, 
adventurers and ranchmen from 1849-1860, are responsible for the de- 



* Handbook of American Indians, page 191, Vol I. 



326 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



plorable condition in which these Indians found themselves about 1880. 
Prior to the influx of the Forty-niners, the Indians had been self-supporting 
(although the action of the Mexican government came near bringing 
about their destruction). California people themselves took little interest 
in the wretched condition of the aboriginal inhabitants and it was not until 
the United States Board of Indian Commissioners and the Indian Rights 
Association became active and sent commissions or individuals to Cali- 
fornia, that reforms were inaugurated. Honorable Albert K. Smiley, 
a citizen of California (and founder of the Lake Mohonk Conference) was 
especially active in this humanitarian work. A Mr. Painter was sent out 
by the Indian Rights Association in 1885. Painter made a thorough in- 
vestigation and laid formal complaint, with the backing of the Mohonk 
Conference, before the President of the United States. The usual delays 
occurred. The President referred the matter to the Attorney General, 
who in turn referred it to the Secretary of the Interior. The Indian Rights 
Association now assumed responsibility, and Mr. Herbert Welsh, Secretary 
of that organization, sent his check for $3,300 to be held while the case 
of the Indians was pending before the court.* 

The wrongs of the Indians were made public at Lake Mohonk by 
various speakers, and through the country generally by Mrs. H. H. 
Jackson. The case of the mission Indians, sustained by these various 
organizations and individuals, was heard in the courts and resulted in 
victory for the Indians of California. 

During the '90's the Indians were further evicted and became ex- 
ceedingly destitute. Many died of starvation. The Indians seemed 
utterly unable to protect themselves and miners and ranchmen alike took 
every advantage of them. As an illustration of the situation in California 
as compared with that in the Black Hills, South Dakota, I will here relate 
a story told me at Deadwood in 1889. 

A miner, who had spent some ten years in California, came to the 
Black Hills about 1875, when gold was discovered. He wore on his watch- 
chain, as a fob, two Indian teeth. In a Deadwood dance hall he informed 
some convivial companions, that on one occasion he took a California 
Indian by the hair and struck him in the mouth with his six-shooter, 
knocking out several teeth. Two of these he had a jeweler drill and wire 
to his watch-chain, as souvenirs. An old trapper, who happened to be 
present, suggested that the miner procure one or two Sioux teeth, as they 
might be different from ''Digger teeth", and would add to his collection. 
Out in the foothills in the course of a few days, the miner met a Sioux 



* Eighteenth Annual Report of the Board of Indian Commissioners, 1886, page 46. 



THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 



mi 



Indian, seized him and undertook to treat him as he had the poor California 
native. Instead of teeth, as a souvenir he received a knife-thrust between 
the ribs and was lucky to escape with his life. 

While interest in the California Indians seemed to lag, Charles F. 
Lummis, Esq., a citizen of the State, and editor of a prominent western 
publication, The Land of Sunshine, began a campaign in the early 90's 
on behalf of the various tribes and bands, most of whom had been evicted 
from their ancient homes. I present a brief bibliography of Mr. Lummis' 
articles at the conclusion of this chapter, as they sum up in a masterly 
fashion the wrongs of the Indian, and the efforts of good citizens to right 
them. In all my reading, I have seen no stronger, more direct and inter- 
esting appeals than these made by Mr. Lummis in his journal (now pub- 
lished under the title, Out West.) 

The National Indian Association through its Northern California 
Branch became active; there was formed the California Indian Association 
of which C. E. Kelsey, Esq., a prominent California attorney, was elected 
Secretary. This organization cooperated with the others and the Board 
of Indian Commissioners and should be credited with the salvation of the 
remaining few thousand California aborigines from pauperism. 

Mr. Kelsey cooperated with Mr. Lummis and really represented the 
people of California. At last Congress was forced to act, the Indian Office 
instituted reforms (which it should have inaugurated more than twenty 
years ago) and satisfactory results were obtained. 

Mr. Kelsey at my request kindly prepared for me a summary of the 
California Indians and the work of rescue as projected by friends, and 
carried to perfection through his intelligent and unselfish labors. He has 
also written me a long letter and I take the liberty of appending in the 
form of footnotes a number of extracts from his letter, in addition to the 
article. 

Mr. Kelsey's Brief History of the California Indians 

The aboriginal population of California was large, possibly equal to 
that of all the rest of the United States. Powers, in his "Indians of Cali- 
fornia," 1877, a work which has been liberally quoted by about everyone 
who has since written of the California Indians, estimates the number 
at 750,000. Barbour and Wozencraft, who traveled over the State in 
1851 as members of the California Indian Commission, estimated the 
native population to be between 200,000 and 300,000. C. Hart Merriam* 
estimates the numbers at the beginning of the nineteenth century at 



* American Anthropology, page 599, volume VII. 




LINGUISTIC STOCKS IN CALIFORNIA 
From Handbook of American Indians 



THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 



329 



260,000. Dr. Kroeber estimates the number at not less than 150,000. The 
figures of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for 1913 shows a little less than 
20,000, being slightly larger than the U. S. census for 1910. This decrease 
is certainly extraordinary, beiug nearly 90% of the most conservative 
estimate of former population, and nearly all taking place within the 
memories of persons now living. The causes are variously given as war, 
famine, whiskey, disease, etc., and all doubtless played their parts in the 
decrease. Dr. Merriam states the causes as follows: 

"The principal cause of the appallingly great and rapid decrease in 
the Indians of California is not the number directly slain by the Whites, 
or the number directly killed by whiskey or disease, but a much more 
subtle and dreadful thing: it is the gradual but progressive and resistless 
confiscation of their lands and homes, in consequence of which they are 
forced to seek refuge in remote and barren localities, often far from water, 
usually with an impoverished supply of food, and not infrequently, in places 
where the winter climate is too severe for their enfeebled constitutions. 
Victims of the aggressive selfishness of the Whites, outcasts in the land 
of their fathers, outraged in their most sacred institutions, weakened in 
body, broken in spirit, and fully conscious of the hopelessness of their 
condition, must we wonder that the wail for the dead is often heard in 
their camps?" 

The Special Investigating Agent, appointed under the Act of March 3, 
1905, states it as largely due to the "progressive absorption by the white 
race of the Indians' every means of existence."* During the famines 
to which all Indian bands were subject after the American occupation, 
the old people and especially the children would die. 

After California was fully American, the National Government at 
Washington, sent out a Commission of distinguished citizens, as it has 
done many times in other parts of the country, to make treaties with the 
California Indians. This commission consisted of the Honorable George 
W. Barbour, Honorable Redick McKee and Honorable O. M. Wozen- 
craft. They traveled about with a military escort and made treaties with 
all Indians west of the Sierra Nevada, about 90% of all in the State at 
that time. Two treaties were made by the whole Commission. They 
then separated, each member taking a different part of the State. Four 
treaties were made by Redick McKee, four by George W. Barbour and 
eight by O. M. Wozencraft. John C. Fremont, E. D. Keyes, George 
Stoneman, and others afterward well known, signed as witnesses to some 
of these eighteen treaties. The treaties were much alike and were all 



* Report of C. E. Kelsey, Special Agent, March 21, 1906. 



330 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



definite and simple. In each treaty the Indians accepted the sovereignty 
of the United States, agreed to keep the peace with Whites and with other 
Indians, ceded to the United States their title to their lands and agreed 
to accept reservations, duly laid out by metes and bounds in the treaties. 
On its part the United States reserved for Indian use forever the specified 
reservations and agreed to pay for the lands ceded by the Indians, in goods, 
not cash. When these treaties went to Washington, they were accompanied 
by a statement calling attention to the extraordinary cheapness of the lands 
acquired and congratulating themselves and the country upon the fact 
that the Indians were too unsophisticated to demand annuities or money. 
The goods promised consisted of thousands of beeves, thousands of sacks 
of flour, thousands of blankets, suits of clothes, dresses, tools, work animals, 
cloth, iron, steel, etc., worth about $1,000,000 at that time. Teachers, 
schools, blacksmiths, farmers, etc., were also promised on a large scale. 
The reservations promised aggregate more than seven and a half million 
acres of land. The eighteen treaties were signed by 422 chiefs representing 
186 tribes, or bands. Some of the reservations were laid out in the mining 
districts and there was much opposition to the treaties among the miners. 
At that time, 1851 -'52, Indian treaties were submitted to the Senate of 
the United States for ratification. These eighteen California treaties were 
duly brought before the Senate and were not ratified. Nothing further 
was heard about them until, fifty-two years later, they were discovered 
in the secret archives of the Senate, the injunction of secrecy removed 
and the treaties published. The Government of the United States seems 
never to have made any attempt to make any other or further treaties. 
The Government nevertheless has taken the land and the reservations, 
as well, and every other benefit to be derived from the eighteen treaties, 
but has not on its part paid the price agreed or carried out any other en- 
gagement then made. It would seem that if the Government received 
the benefits of the treaties, it should pay the price agreed, whether the 
treaties were ratified or not, and that the Government should have taken 
some steps to acquire the Indian right of occupancy, a right which has not 
been legally terminated to this day. The failure of the treaties and the 
ensuing period of inaction by the National Government, were disastrous 
to the Indians of California. Not a foot of land remained which they 
could call their own. There was no source of aboriginal food supply which 
might not be appropriated by some white man any day, and most of the 
country was soon appropriated for mines or cattle or agriculture. The 
Indians were forced into a hand-to-mouth existence, interspersed with 
periods of famine, during which the rising generation perished. A great 



THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 



331 



variety of diseases, previously unknown, were introduced among the 
Indians, against which they had no inherited immunity. Diseases which 
among white people are considered of little consequence, such as whooping- 
cough, measles, etc., are fatal to Indians, especially during periods of 
scarcity. The more virulent diseases such as smallpox, tuberculosis, etc., 
also took their toll from the Indian camps, and whiskey claimed its thou- 
sands of victims. 

In any other part of the United States, the failure of the treaties 
would doubtless have resulted in a general Indian war. This was not 
possible in California. The extraordinary number of Indian dialects (over 
135 are now known), belonging to some twenty diverse and antagonistic 
racial stocks, was enough in itself, to have prevented anything like united 
action. Within a year or so California was occupied by from 100,000 to 
200,000 active, vigorous, masterful men, armed with the best weapons 
of the day. The Indians could not have mustered 30,000 warriors in the 
mining districts and possibly not in all California, and they were armed 
with bows and arrows and clubs.* The Indian cause was hopeless from the 
start. Nevertheless, there ensued a period of near war, with occasional 
clashes between Indians and Whites, which was fully as disastrous to the 
Indians as an open campaign would have been. The encounters are re- 
ferred to, locally, as "battles", of which quite a large number are recorded. 
The Indians were usually surrounded and shot down by posses of miners 
and citizens, in retaliation of some aggression by the Indians, or some 
alleged aggression. Some Indian bands are known to have been "wiped 
out" because their room was wanted by cattle men or settlers. No action 
by the Federal Government for the protection of the Indians is recorded. 
In one case the difficulties resulted in actual border warfare. The Hupa 
Indians, goaded into action by the influx of settlers into their valley, went 
on the warpath, during the sixties. They were joined by their neighbors, 
the Yurocs, or Lower Klamaths, and a sharp frontier war ensued for a 
couple of years. The Government finally bought out the squatters, re- 
stored the land to the Indians and gave the Hupas and Yurocs definite 
reservations. A similar trouble arose at Round Valley in the eighties, but 
war was averted by one of those compromises well known in the West, 
under which the Indians received one-quarter of their own land and the 
settlers received three-quarters. 

Reports published from time to time at Washington show that the 
Indian Office was not wholly without knowledge of Indian conditions in 

* The Federal census for 1850 showed a population of 92,597 Indians; State Census of 1852, 255,122 
Indians, 31,266 being "domesticated." 



332 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



California, but little was attempted and less accomplished for Indian relief. 
Several reservations were established, or attempted to be established by 
Executive order. One was invalidated by the Courts, which held the land 
to be within a Mexican land grant. One was raided and seized by settlers, 
who had sufficient political influence to hold the land and secure the can- 
cellation of the Executive order. One was laid out with fine timber included 
and another was desired by cattlemen and sufficient influence was con- 
centrated upon Congress to secure their "opening to settlement". Only 
one small reservation of that period remains to this day, and this one, 
Tule River, was diminished in size more than half, without the knowledge 
or consent of the Indians. The few items appearing in the Indian Office 
reports, or in reports to the Board of Indian Commissioners, were rather 
more optimistic than the situation warranted, for the officers making 
those reports were at the same time giving an account of their own steward- 
ship and doubtless mentioned as many favorable things as they could. 
The fact that favorable items were so few is eloquent of the conditions 
then existing. Dr. C. Hart Merriam estimates that the California Indians 
were decreasing at an average rate of 7,000 per annum*, and this must 
haA^e been under conditions involving an appalling amount of misery and 
suffering. It was well understood that the California Indians were "fading 
away" rapidly, yet it seems to have occurred to no one to look into the 
matter and see why the Indians were decreasing in numbers or what the 
physical steps were by which the Indians were being faded. Commissioner 
Wozencraft, in the early fifties, published an appeal to the people of Cali- 
fornia, but it met with no particular response. The process of ejecting 
Indians from the ownership or possession of anything considered of value 
to any white man went on without check, and the number of Indians who 
perished diminished each year, simply because there were fewer Indians 
left to die. It was hardly to be expected that the members of this savage 
race could at once readjust themselves to the fierce civilization under 
which they had been submerged so suddenly, and only a few Indians were 
able to do so. Nor could it be expected, doubtless, that the new white 
population, so largely from the Middle West, with 200 years' traditions 
of Indian fighting behind them, should show any particular consideration 
for Indians who were unable to fight. The attitude of the great majority 
of white citizens was apathetic, rather than hostile, and the more active 
minority were allowed their will with the Indians. For years no local 
church seems to have made any efforts on behalf of Indians, and though 
there were not wanting distinguished instances where individuals braved 



* American Anthropologist, page 603, Vol. VII, Xo. 4. 



THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 



333 



local public opinion by standing out for the rights of Indians, the effect 
upon the times was small. The attitude of the Californians is reflected 
by the provisions of their early codes in regard to Indians. See Act of the 
Legislature of California approved April 22, 1850, Ch. 408, section 3650 
et seq. of the California Code of that day. Indians were placed under 
justices of the peace. Originally an Indian could not sue or be sued, but 
this was altered in 1855. Cruel treatment of Indian minors was punishable 
by a fine of $10. Any Indian who had fallen into the clutches of the law 
upon a finable offense, had his labor sold to the highest bidder, until his 
fine was worked out, the purchaser giving a bond for the fine.* Any 
Indian could upon the complaint of any citizen, be haled into a justice 
court, adjudged an " able-bodied Indian vagrant" and his labor sold to 
the highest bidder for four months. | These laws were never enforced 
very oppressively and had become a dead letter long before they were 
finally repealed in 1883. Nor were State laws the only ones of which Indians 
might complain. After the American occupation, for some forty years, 
there was no practical way in which an Indian could in California acquire 
title to land from the public domain. The Indian was not a citizen and 
could not select land under the homestead or other land acts. He was 
not an alien and could not be naturalized as a citizen. There was no law 
under which a California Indian could become a citizen, until the passage 
of the general allotment Act in 18874 The Indian homestead Acts 
of 1875 and 1883 were of little value, as the technical requirements were 
too onerous, no one was designated to see that Indians were assisted and 
few Indians ever heard of the Acts. Under the general allotment Act and 
subsequent to 1891, some 1800 Indian allotments were made in California. 
This allotting was done by Special Agents sent from Washington, who were 
unfamiliar with local conditions, hence water rights, soil qualities,timber, 
etc., were not looked after, and at least two-thirds of these allotments were 
of little or no value to the Indian allottees. About 1400 of the 1800 allot- 
ments were made in the five northeastern counties of the State and in these 
counties the few allotments that were inhabitable have proved of great 
value to the Indians. In the remainder of the State there was little land 
unappropriated and the allotment laws brought no relief to the larger 
number of Indians. § 

* Sec. 3662. f Sec. 3668. t Act of Feb. 28, 1887 (24 Statutes at Large, page 388). 

§In thirteen cases I found the land the Indians were occupying, that is, the more valuable little 
valleys, was outside of the reservation as laid out and in six of these cases the land occupied was not only 
unpatented and unprotected, but the land patented to the Indians was barren rocks, utterly worthless. 
In one case the reservation patented was six miles away from the land selected for the Indians in an 
entirely different township. In most cases the boundaries were not marked at all and the adjoining 
owners moved the lines over onto the Indians. 



334 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The period of war, near war and oppression lasted rather less than 
twenty years and was succeeded by a period of eviction of somewhat 
longer duration. At first, when a white man filed on a tract of land and 
summarily ejected any Indians he might find living there, the Indians 
could move on to some adjoining tract, where the opportunities for starva- 
tion were equally good. But as time went on, land became much scarcer 
and fewer land owners were willing to allow Indians to occupy their ranches 
even in small part. The evictions continued and as those recently evicted 
could find no unoccupied tract to live on, they began to crowd into other 
settlements, which had not yet been summoned to move. The result was 
that in many parts of the State, the Indians gradually concentrated in 
small settlements, locally known as rancherias, where they lived upon 
the sufferance of some kindly-disposed land owner. A change in ownership 
of the land usually meant eviction for the Indians. In these rancherias 
the conditions were unspeakable, both as to sanitation and morals. The 
Indians felt they were in their last ditch and that there was nothing for 
them to look forward to but extinction. The Indians were surrounded by 
civilization, but not of it. They came in contact chiefly with the vices 
of civilization and the vicious white element. Forty years after the 
American occupation three-fourths of the California Indians had still to 
learn what a missionary might be and nine-tenths of them were still heathen. 
The priest and the Levite had passed by on the other side, and the good 
Samaritan had been unavoidably detained in Jerusalem. 

The first general awakening as to conditions among the Indians of 
California came with the publication of Helen Hunt Jackson's "Century 
of Dishonor" and "Ramona", in the eighties, and by 1890 Congress had 
passed an act for the relief of the Indians of Southern California. This 
was much needed. The Smiley Commission appointed under this Act 
increased the number of small reservations in Southern California from 
about seventeen to thirty-four and enlarged most of those formerly in 
existence. They were able to give a fixed indefeasible title and these 
Indians were thenceforward secure in their homes. The Smiley Commission 
was not given funds sufficient to develop water upon the tracts reserved, 
a most important matter, for the Indians had been crowded into the moun- 
tains and on to barren tracts, which no white man at that time wanted. 
The Southern California Indians had to wait some fifteen to twenty years 
longer before an attempt was made to put their lands into habitable shape, 
where they could live with some approach to comfort. The Indians of 
Northern and Central California, numbering more than three-fourths of 
those in the State, received no benefit from the awakening as to Southern 



THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 



335 



California. Their necessities were fully as great and they were as fully 
deserving, but interest in the California Indians died away largely before 
anything was accomplished north of Tehachipi. Two things did follow, 
first sending some allotting agents to Northern California, where they 
did some good, though they largely failed to live up to their opportunities, 
and second, a branch of the National Indian Association was established 
in Northern California and mission and school work was begun among 
the Indians. The policy of this Association has been to establish a school 
or a mission and when it is in good working order to turn it over to some 
church or society that will agree to carry on the work. Then the Asso- 
ciation establishes another mission in the same manner. Some twenty 
missions and schools, reaching about 12,000 Indians, have been established 
in California, directly or indirectly through the efforts of the National 
Indian Association or of its Northern California branch. For some eight 
or ten years after the founding of the Northern California branch in 1894, 
their efforts were largely confined to the establishment of missions and 
schools among the Indians and to relieving such cases of distress as came 
to their knowledge. There were considerable difficulties. No church or 
other organization could afford to take over or begin work unless there 
was some fixity of tenure for the Indians. Where the Indians were subject 
to eviction at any time, as the majority were, no one could afford to begin 
work, for their work might be dissipated any day and the Indians scattered. 
Hence, for the first few years the efforts were confined to those places 
where Indians held land in some form. 

The second awakening began about 1903, when the Northern Cali- 
fornia Indian Association, or as it is often called, the California Indian 
Association, began its campaign for the relief of the homeless Indians of 
California, then supposed to number about 8,000 souls. Every avenue 
of assistance proposed seemed to lead back to the land question. Without 
some security of tenure it seemed impossible to accomplish any lasting 
improvement in Indian conditions, and inasmuch as the landless condition 
of the Indians was due to the acts and omissions of the National Govern- 
ment, the Indian Association appealed to the Congress of the United 
States for relief, in so far as land was necessary. The Association did not 
ask for reservations, believing that more Indian reservations in California 
would be detrimental to all concerned. They did not ask that the Indians 
be given farms, or that they should be made rich; merely that they be 
given small allotments of land, where they would be secure. The Cali- 
fornia Indians have always been self-sustaining. That is, they have re- 
ceived no aid from the Government or from anyone else. They have often 



336 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



been below the starvation line and usually not far above it, but such as 
their living was, it was their own. Most of the California Indians have in 
some measure adjusted themselves to the industrial life about them and 
perform whatever labor they can get. The Indian Association planned 
not to interfere in any manner with their independence, or with their 
industrial position. Above all things they did not wish the Indians pau- 
perized. Also, the Indian Association did not wish the Indians concen- 
trated. Where too many Indians are concentrated in one place, there is 
not sufficient work and the Indians themselves have their own reasons 
for remaining within their ancestral districts, which we may call super- 
stitious or sentimental. The old racial antagonism between the antagonistic 
racial stocks also renders it inadvisable to concentrate. The Indian Asso- 
ciation therefore proposed that in places where no land for allotment could 
be secured from the public domain, small tracts should be purchased, in 
the immediate neighborhood of the Indians, where they have friends and 
employers.* 

The Indian Association then, 1904, began a vigorous campaign in 
California, largely educational, for the purpose of securing from Congress 
the land necessary as a basis for further work on behalf of the California 
Indians. In this effort nearly all of the societies working for the benefit 
of Indians joined. In Southern California matters had been nearing a 
crisis, with the Indians there, owing to lack of water on most reservations, 
indefinite boundaries, etc., and they were also asking for relief. The 
Sequoya League, of which Charles F. Lummis, Esq., was the leading spirit, 
was the most active body in Southern California. In 1905 Congress directed 
an investigation of the whole Indian situation in California, and C. E. 
Kelsey, General Secretary of the Northern California Indian Association, 
was selected to make the investigation. The report of this investigation 
was published by the Indian Office March 21, 1906. Congress soon made 
an appropriation of $100,000 for the relief of the California Indians and 
$50,000 was further appropriated two years later. Some further sums were 
also given for fencing, surveying and other such items. The plan pre- 
sented by the Indian Association met favor with the Board of Indian 

*YVnen Kelsey took charge tie found on no reservation was there an adequate supply of water for 
irrigation and on most of them none at all. This in a country where irrigation is absolutely life. On 
no reservation was there any attempt made to protect the water supply, and land which controlled the 
water was carefully left out of the reservations in most cases. I think the surveyors must have done so 
knowingly. This meant fifteen or twenty years' slow starvation for the Indians, and greatly increased 
difficulties later when we tried to correct things. I presume I have spent one-third of my time during 
the last ten years in fighting for things for the Southern California Indians, which ought to have been 
settled twenty years before. 



THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 337 



Commissioners and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and was adopted 
almost in toto. Mr. Kelsey was appointed to have charge of purchasing 
and allotting such lands as were required and served until the appro- 
priations were exhausted. The need for water upon the Southern Cali- 
fornia reservations was met chiefly from direct appropriations for the 
Irrigation Service and a large share of this work is already completed. 
The vexing boundary questions in Southern California have all been settled 
and some considerable additions made to the reservations from the public 
domain and from purchase. In Northern California the work of getting 
all Indians on their own small fraction of land is not quite so far along, 
but is nearing completion. When, in 1903, the Northern California Indian 
Association began its movement to secure land for the landless Indians 
of California, the land situation of the California Indians was estimated 
about as follows: 

On reservations, So. Calif 3,500 

On reservations, No. Calif 1,700 

On allotments, So. Calif. 250 

On allotments, No. Calif .2,800 

On land owned by churches, societies, etc., and by 

themselves. 1,100 

Estimated to be landless 8,000 



17,350 

It was estimated that about 2,000 could be given homes from the public 
domain. The above estimates proved inadequate in some respects. There 
were some 2,000 more Indians in the State than had been estimated and 
fewer Indians had land of their own than was supposed. Still as it proved 
possible to take care of 4,200 from the public domain and within the National 
Forests, the number from whom land must be purchased was not increased. 

Congress has recently appropriated $10,000 more for the purchase of 
land for these Indians, but this will not be enough to take care of one-half 
of those remaining. When this appropriation shall have been used, nearly 
10,000 of the California Indians will have been given homes. The others 
should be provided for immediately. It should be understood that all 
this has been done without the establishment of reservations or agencies 
and with practically no expense for maintenance. In comparison with 
the magnitude of the work, the expense has been small and it must be 
conceded that the debt which the Government owes the California Indians 
is by no means extinguished. 



338 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The present land situation (1914) in California is about as follows: 



On reservations. No. Calif 1.944 

On reservations, So. Calif 3,416 

On allotments, No. Calif. (Old) 2,800 

On allotments, So. Calif. (Old) 250 

On allotments, No. Calif. (New) 400 

On allotments, So. Calif. (New) 238 

On National Forests 3,000 

On newly purchased lands 4.800 

Allotments arranged for 600 

On land owned by Indians 300 

On land owned by churches, societies, etc 2o0 

Not yet taken care of 1,841 



19,839 

The awakening in regard to the California Indians was by no means 
confined to land. The Indian Association has been working upon public 
sentiment from the first. After the land purchases were under way, the 
Association began efforts to secure schools and school privileges and to 
urge religious and other organizations to take up various phases of Indian 
work. The Indian Office established some eight day schools and increased 
the capacity of others. Also an increased number of field matrons were 
appointed. In 1904 it was estimated that only 1000 Indian children of 
school age in Northern California were in any kind of a school, out of 
2800. By 1914 it is estimated that less than 1000 were not in school. The 
increase in school attendance is largely in the public schools of the State. 
Racial prejudice against Indians in California in the earlier days was 
intense and the idea of allowing an Indian child in school was considered 
preposterous. As the Indians decreased in numbers all fear of them passed 
away, and in time a kindlier feeling arose. For many years this racial 
prejudice prevented the greater number of Indians from getting an ade- 
quate amount of work. With increased population and the increased 
development of California came an increased demand for labor with a 
diminished prejudice against Indians. The industrial position of the 
Indians has therefore improved. In some parts of the State the Indians 
are fairly well employed at fair pay. In others there is little work for any- 
one and in these portions of the State Indians have to go many miles for 
a little work. They cut wood, put up hay, cultivate and pick hops, pick 
grapes and other fruit and do all kinds of odd jobs. As their employment 
is still largely seasonal, it is not wholly satisfactory. One excellent thing 



THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 



339 



about the more recent revival of interest in the California Indians is that 
it is largely in California itself. 

In 1907 there were five Protestant missions to the Indians of Northern 
California and two or three Roman Catholic missions. By 1914 the Protest- 
ant missions have increased to seventeen, with twenty missionaries. The 
Catholic work has also been extended. There are now missionaries in the 
field for about 14,000 of the California Indians and quite a number of 
local churches have interested themselves in the Indians in their own 
neighborhoods. The number of converts probably does not exceed 4,000. 

In California a considerable number of Indians, some 3,600, were 
found living within the National Forests, of whom some 600 had allotments 
made before the forests were established. Further legislation was neces- 
sary before the 3,000 could be given their own homes. This was accom- 
plished in 1910. (36 Stat. L. 855) 

The California Indian, often termed "Digger", has been considerably 
maligned. Statements are not wanting that the California Indians were 
of deficient mentality, little above the brutes and about the lowest of all 
human beings. Such statements are entitled to no credence. Kroeber, 
Barrett, Goddard, Merriam, Powers, Lummis, and all writers having 
actual acquaintance with the California Indians, place them as equal to 
any of the other American tribes. Teachers in the California Indian 
schools say that the California Indian children are as intelligent and capable 
as any Indians they have ever taught. Nearly one thousand Indian children 
are in the public schools of California and their scholarship is in no wise 
inferior to that of the white children of the same age, though it must be 
admitted that few Indian children attend after adolescence. A few of 
those in better financial circumstances have graduated from high schools 
with honors. Employers of Indian labor, without exception, pronounce 
them honest, reliable and capable. They can be trusted to work alone, 
which cannot be done with Oriental labor or floating Whites. Conviction 
of an Indian for theft is almost unheard of. Statistics gathered in 1909 
showed twenty-eight Indians in the prisons of California for crimes of 
violence, mostly committed when under the influence of liquor, and not 
one Indian for theft or robbery or crimes against property. This is re- 
markable when we consider the straits under which the Indians are often 
placed. 

Present conditions look favorable for the California Indians. In 
Southern California the most harassing troubles have been settled, and 
water is being supplied wherever possible. Southern California is over- 
schooled. The Government schools have a capacity for about 1200 pupils 



340 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



and there are about 800 Indian children of school age in that district. In 
Northern California seven-eighths of the Indians have been supplied with 
minute amounts of land. The California white people seem aroused to 
the need for other forms of assistance and it seems unlikely that matters 
will ever revert to former conditions. The new appropriation will take 
care of a part of the Indians still homeless. More has been accomplished 
in this "spurt" than all others put together. This may be attributed 
to the fact that the external influences lasted longer. That is, an outsider 
from the Indian Association was in charge of the work for some eight 
years. The last one hundred years tend to show that the Indian Office 
has not within itself the power to initiate any movement for the relief 
of Indians. The spirit that compels redress has not resided in the Indian 
Office. The Indian Office has received at all times sufficient reports from 
the field and may be presumed to have had knowledge of conditions at 
all times and yet every movement for relief has come from the outside, 
from individuals, or more often from associations who have compelled an 
unwilling bureau to act, or, often an unwilling Congress to act. This is 
doubtless always the case with bureaucracy. I am inclined to think this 
results largely from the manner of organization. As it is, the authority 
to decide questions lies with persons who seldom or never see the field and 
are without personal knowledge of that they are doing. The men who know 
the field have no power and the men who have the power do not know 
the field. 

Bureaucracy has one curious result and I am inclined to think more 
so in the Indian Service than in others. The employees seem to lose all 
power of initiative and all sense of individuality. They soon learn to 
resent any but routine work. This is probably why the reports of con- 
ditions in California and elsewhere have fallen into deaf pigeonholes. 



My Brother's Keeper.— Charles F. Lummis, 1899. Land of Sunshine. Vol. XI, pp. 139, 207, 263, 333. 
My Brother's Keeper. — Charles F. Lummis, 1900. Land of Sunshine. Vol. XII, pp. 28, 90. 
The Story of Cyrus Hawk. — C. J. Crandall, 1900. Land of Sunshine. Vol. XII, pp. 352. 
The Pity of It. — Bertha S. Wilkins, 1900. Land of Sunshine. Vol. XII, pp. 244. 
The Sequoya League.— Charles F. Lummis, 1903. Out West. Vol. XVIII, pp. 81, 213, 355. 
Turning a New Leaf. The Warner Ranch Indians Out West, 1903. Vol. XVIII, pp. 441; Out West, Part II, 
Vol. XVIII, pp. 589. 

The Sequoya League. — Charles F. Lummis, 1903. Out West. Vol. XVIII, pp. 477, 625. 
Bullying the "Quaker Indians." — Charles F. Lummis, 1903. Out West. Vol. XVIII, pp. 669. 
The Sequoya League. — Charles F. Lummis,l903. Out West. Vol. XVIII, pp. 743. 

Reports of the Board of Indian Commissioners, and Interior Department, 1871-1908, for full descriptions of 
investigations, etc. 



CHAPTER XXXII. A STATISTICAL TABLE. PREPARED BY 
MEN AND WOMEN IN THE FIELD 



The past forty years we have had statistics on Indian advancement 
in the Secretary of the Interior and Indian Office reports. Until late years, 
these were not detailed, but presented in condensed form the opinions of 
Agents, Superintendents and employees. 

In 1908 the United States Board of Indian Commissioners published 
a table containing answers to twenty-six questions. The information is 
valuable and was of service to the Government in handling Indian prob- 
lems. I do not reproduce the table here for the reason that excellent 
though it was, it omits protection of property, and vital statistics. Under 
my chapter devoted to health I have discussed, in a general way, the 
health of the Indians, but have not presented tables for the reason that I 
do not wish this book to become too statistical in character. 

Feeling that none of the statistical and other reports submitted by 
Superintendents, Special Agents, Inspectors — or even the Honorable 
Commissioner himself — emphasized the phase of the situation which in 
my eyes seemed the most important, I have prepared a table of my own. 

Two general questions might be asked every man and woman in the 
Indian Service, every educated Indian, and every person living in, or near, 
Indian communities. These are: 

First. "Is the Indian citizen treated as the white citizen, or is he 
discriminated against?" 

Second. "Has his moral, physical, financial and general well being 
increased or diminished, the past twenty years?" 

On these two very pertinent and important questions hang the entire 
future of the American Red Race. 

After some thought, I decided to obtain opinions from those who knew 
at first hand how our wards were progressing. The information I desired 
must cover all of the United States, where Indians now live. Naturally, 
it was confined to the region west of the Mississippi, with the exception of 
tracts in Wisconsin and Michigan. 

The excellent table prepared by Commissioner Sells in his report of 
1913 is based upon statistics sent in by Superintendents, teachers and 
physicians. Of necessity, it could not include statements or opinions of 
missionaries and other observers. It presents the views of employees 
in the Department. 



342 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



After deliberation, a series of fourteen questions were prepared and 
addressed to upward of 300 men and women representing every reservation, 
Indian community, or school. Nearly half of these replied, and on 
pages 345 to 358 I have presented their comments grouped under these 
various questions. I have tried to make the questions sufficiently elastic 
to cover every phase of the subject. Specific requests applied to one section 
of the country, might be out of place in another. For instance, a series of 
questions concerning the Navaho, might not be answered intelligently if 
applied to the Ojibwa of Wisconsin. 

In studying the table of statistics, one observes that the answers 
indicate a wide difference of opinion. This is quite natural. As an illus- 
tration; at Pine Ridge, Major Brennan — a competent Superintendent, 
who has been in charge of the fighting Sioux for many years — thinks that 
there is less sickness and more progress than formerly ; whereas a prominent 
missionary takes the opposite view. Another missionary offers a compro- 
mise as between Major Brennan's view, and the opinion of his worthy 
co-laborer. This difference does not reflect on the report of Major Brennan, 
but is an honest difference of opinion. Missionaries and their assistants 
go about among the Indians of a certain part of the reservation more than 
does the Agent, who is engrossed in many official duties. 

Not a few of the answers are lengthy, and extremely interesting. 
Were it possible, all of them should be reproduced in this chapter. 

A number of answers were received promptly, others have come to 
hand a few at a time, the past four months. Others are still arriving. It 
must be remembered that these people are all earnest workers, whether 
employed by the Government or benevolent organizations — hence the 
delays. Beyond question, many will reach me too late to be included in 
the table. There is also a class of excessively timid persons, who seem to 
think that to answer the questions, may involve them in controversy, or 
cast reflection on the Interior Department. It is quite surprising that so 
many correspondents should take this view. 

The differences of opinion in nowise affect the table as a whole. On 
a large reservation, the Indians in one section may be rather backward. 
For instance, there will be more sickness at Pine Point, White Earth reserv- 
ation, than about White Earth agency. Hence, the priest at Pine Point 
would report a worse condition among his Indians than the Agent at White 
Earth. In the great Indian area of eastern Oklahoma, near the schools 
conditions are satisfactory, whereas back in the hills, there is much suffer- 
ing and distress. Also in Oklahoma, near the towns will live Indians who 
drink and gamble. Therefore, if such facts are taken into consideration, 



rom "Indian Blankets and Their i\fakers' 
v George Wharton James. 
'. C. McGlurg & Co.. Publishers. 



OLD BAYETA SADDLE BLANKET 



A STATISTICAL TABLE 



343 



many of the apparent discrepancies in my table will be readily understood 
by readers. Upwards of a hundred of my correspondents have been very 
frank, and many of their recommendations and suggestions are purposely 
omitted for the reason that to incorporate them would seem like criticizing 
the present administration. This is not my purpose, as has been frequently 
pointed out in this book. All I desire to do is to present facts, and include 
sensible remedies suggested by correspondents on the ground. 

If we average up the entire table and allow for the progress in the 
sections wherein are located schools; where Superintendents, through 
efficient farmers and teachers, have brought about advance of Indians, we 
will find that in many parts of the country there is a distinct advance. 
In other portions of the United States the natives are either at a standstill, 
or have retrograded. The best showing is in the Navaho country, where 
good work has been done by all the Superintendents and missionaries, by 
Rev. Johnson, and by the Agent at Shiprock, Mr. W. T. Shelton — where 
now the desert blossoms like the rose. The general policy as carried out by 
Major Peter Parquette, Superintendent of the Navaho, and his able assist- 
ants, has been to let them alone and permit them to work out their own 
salvation under a slight supervision. As the Navaho are today the largest 
body of Indians speaking the same language, and chiefly full-bloods, in this 
country, the Navaho statistics are sufficiently strong in the point of progress 
to appreciably raise the entire tone of Indians in the United States. This 
should be a lesson not lost on our Congress. While this is true and other 
communities, such as Tulalip Agency, Washington, show a marked gain, 
the general tone of Indian communities as to advance in the arts, health, 
etc., is not satisfactory. The table clearly indicates this. We must take 
into account two important factors in studying the reports of my corre- 
spondents. First, the Superintendents, very naturally, wish to present 
their wards in as creditable a manner as possible. They do not exaggerate, 
for they are all honest and competent observers. But they rather minimize 
the sad side of the story. The teachers, missionaries, priests, and the 
doctors rather lean toward a pessimistic view of conditions. 

In our final analysis we find that a majority of the correspondents 
realize the difficulties under which the Indians labor, being discriminated 
against in their respective communities. That is, that although we claim 
citizenship for the Indians, all the facts point to the conclusion that the 
citizenship is not effective. While we claim to care for the health of the 
Indians, we have an insufficient number of doctors and hospitals. While 
we build many irrigation plants, prepare model farms, etc., we do not 
provide the Indians with sufficient seed, stock, implements, wagons, etc., 



344 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



whereby they may become self-supporting. Most important of all, where we 
have given the Indians deeds to their property, the majority of them lose 
the property. It is not pertinent in the table of statistics to enter into 
the question whether the Indian or the white man is at fault in this respect. 
The bald facts are to the effect that Indians lose their property. 

The statistics indicate that education is advancing, and allotting of 
lands has far advanced. In education alone, the Indians certainly have 
advanced to a marked degree. Practically all Indians under fifty (save 
those referred to on page 27) have had some schooling. 

For various reasons the names of the correspondents are omitted, 
although their original communications are preserved in my files. In 
various chapters throughout the book, I have incorporated partial or 
complete statements from these same correspondents. In the table, the 
answers to the questions have been presented in a few words. Many of 
the sentences are actual quotations, but others present in condensed form 
the opinions of the writers. Many correspondents have devoted an entire 
page to answering one question. Frequently, after answering the questions, 
the correspondent has written several pages in order to present his views 
concerning the Indian problem. Others have selected such questions as 
appeared to them to be of primary importance, and have answered these 
at considerable length. A majority of the correspondents realize that the 
protection of the Indian's property, the safeguarding of his health, and the 
relation between the two races constitute the essentials of the Indian 
problem, and that all other considerations are secondary. 



Is the general condi- 
tion of the Indians as 
a body more satisfac- 
tory than ten years 
ago? 


Rather less so. 

Much better. 
No. 


Yes, much better. 
Decidedly so. 


Need water to im- 
prove. 
Yes. 

Cannot answer. 
It is. 


Are the Indians hold- 
ing their allotments, 
or are the white peo- 
p 1 e procuring the 
same? 


Indians ready to sell 
regardless of conse- 
quences. 

No white men here. 
None here. 


Holding their allot- 
ments. 

Keeping their allot- 
ments. 


No allotments 
made. 

Holding allotments. 

Holding their allot- 
ments. 

Allotments held by 
the Government. 


In your opinion, has 
there been a high per- 
centage of deaths 
among the children, 
suffering from tuber- 
culosis, sent from the 
schools to their 
homes the past ten 
years? 


No. 


Uncertain. 


CO CO 

> > 


Do not know 
Yes. 

Cannot answer. 
Yes. 


Have many children 
the past ten years, 
been dismissed from 
the schools? 


Very few, if any. 

Not one. 
Yes. 


Few, government reg- 
ulation. 

Eight, in last three 
years. 


Not able to state. 

Few; tuberculosis 

cases. 

Very few. 

Many. 


Are children dis- 
charged from the 
schools because of 
diseases, properly 
treated at home? 


Not generally, but oc- 
casionally, seldom 
properly treated at 
home. 
Not one. 
No. 


No. (No diseases 
treated properly at 
home). 
No. 


Not generally. 

No diseases treated 
at home. 
Yes and No. 

Tuberculosis, d i s- 
charged. Trachoma, 
treated in schools. 


Is there more tuber- 
culosis and trachoma 
among your Indians 
now than ten years 
ago? 


Tuberculosis not very 

much increased, but 

ten times as much 

trachoma. 

No. 

Yes. 


Less tuberculosis and 
trachoma. 

Records do not show 
it. 

Increased, I think. 
No reliable statistics. 

No. 

Cannot answer. 
There is. 


Correspondent 


Alaska 
No. 1 Nulato 

No. 2 St. Michaels 
No. 3 


Arizona 
No. 1 Ft. Defiance 

No. 2 Parker 

No. 3 Phoenix 
No. 4 Sacaton 

No. 5 St. Michaels 

No. 6 Tucson 

No. 7 



Is the general condi- 
tion of the Indians as 
a body more satisfac- 
tory than ten years 
ago? 


Decidedly better. 
Fifty per cent better. 

More farming, morals 
very little improved. 
Yes. 
Yes. 

No, much worse. 
Much better. 


No. 

Yes, decidedly. 


Yes. 


co co • i 
CD CD O 

>- > z . 




Are the Indians hold- 
ing their allotments, 
or are the white peo- 
p 1 e procuring the 
same? 


No allotments. 
No allotments. 

No allotment held by 
white men. 
No allotments. 
Few allotments sold 
to best interest of In- 
dian. 

Holding them. 
Holding them by law. 


Holding them. 
Just received allot- 
ments. 


No allotments. 


Holding most of 
them. 

Indian holds land. 

Holding them. 
Holding them. 


In your opinion, has 
there been a high per- 
centage of deaths 
among the children, 
suffering from tuber- 
culosis, sent from the 
schools to their 
homes the past ten 
years? 


There has not. 

No children sent 

home. 

Only healthy children 

enrolled. 

No. 

Yes. 

No. 

All sent home have 
died (seven). 


d d 
Z Z 


Yes. 


Yes. 

Yes, from non-res- 
ervation schools. 
About 2%. 




Have many children 
the past ten years, 
been dismissed from 
the schools? 

• 


Not many. 
One case on account 
of sickness. 
Comparatively few. 

No. | 
Probably about 
twenty. 

No. 

Percentage very 
small. 


No. 

Not many. 


No data. 


No tuberculosis or 
trachoma cases ad- 
mitted. 
None of late. 

Few. 




Are children dis- 
charged from the 
schools because of 
diseases, properly 
treated at home? 


Yes, sent home to die. 
No proper treatment 
at home. 

No. No treatment 

at home. 

No. 

No. 

No. 


No. 

By law, must be sent 
home. Necessary in 
few cases. 


No treatment at 
home. 


No. 


No. 

Not sent home soon 
enough. 


| Is there more tuber- 
j culosis and trachoma 
1 among your Indians 
1 now than ten years 
j ago? 


No. 
No. 

No. 

No. 

I think not. 

Yes, much more. 
There is much more 
than five years ago. 
Not to my knowledge. 
No. 

I would say not so 
prevalent. 


No data. 


We have looked into 
the condition more, 
that is all, I think. 
Yes, I believe there is. 

Less frequent now. 
Greatly increased. 


Correspondent 


California 
No. 1 Banning 
No. 2 Campo 

No. 3 Covelo 

No. 4 ElCujon 
No. 5 Greenville 

No. 6 Likely 
No. 7 Pala 

No. 8 Ukiah 

No. 9 Yuma Yuma 

No. 10 N. California 


Colorado 
No. 1 Navaho 

Springs 


No. Dakota 
No. 1 Elbowoods 

No. 2 Elbowoods 

No. 3 Ft. Yates 
No. 4 Standing 



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Is the general condi- 
tion of the Indians as 
a body more satisfac- 
tory than ten years 
ago? 


Yes. 

Yes, except for morals 


6 6 6 6 

z z z z 


Yes. 

Yes, decidedly. 
Far better. 

Yes. 
Yes 


Yes, decidedly. 
No. 

Yes, much. 


Are the Indians hold- 
ing their allotments, 
or are the white peo- 
p 1 e procuring the 
same? 


Yes, until restriction 
is removed. 
Majority are. 


White people rent or 
buy fast. 

Only 15% will hold 
allotments in 6 years. 
Whites get all they 
can. 

ments. 


No allotments made. 
Sell patents in fee and 
heirship lands. 
Indians just received 
them. 

Full-bloods are, the 
others sell. 

J.N \J ■ M M ' 1 1 1 n I u ■ 


Prefer to sell when 
they can. 
Holding them. 

Holding allotments. 


In your opinion, has 
there been a high per- 
centage of deaths 
among the children, 
suffering from tuber- 
culosis, sent from the 
schools to their 
homes the past ten 
years? 


• CO 
O CU 

Z > 


Not from our school. 


Percentage high 
Thirty percent. 


High percent. 
High percent. 

Percentage is above 

the average. 

No. 

High percent. 


No, the reverse is 
true. 

Very high percent. 
No. 


Have many children 
the past ten years, 
been dismissed from 
the schools? 


No. 

Comparatively few. 


None from our school. 


Not many, they are 
examined before ad- 
mitted. 
Few. 


No data. 
No. 

About ten a year. 
No boarding-school. 
Not many. 


Two in ten years. 

Twenty-five in ten 
years. 

No. 


Are children dis- 
charged from the 
schools because of 
diseases, properly 
treated at home? 


No. 

Not well cared for at 
home. 


No. 

None. 

No. 

Very few. 


In many cases. 
Not a great many. 




No 

Not properly treated 
at home. 


No. 

Tuberculosis cases 
sent home, trachoma 
treated at home. 
No. 


Is there more tuber- 
culosis and trachoma 
among your Indians 
now than ten years 
ago? 


Yes, among some 

families. 

No. 


No, — not so much. 

More tuberculosis, 
less trachoma. 
I should judge so. 

Not more than ten 
years ago. 


No. 
No. 

Tuberculosis same, 
more trachoma. 
No. 

Yes, more. 


No. 

At least as much. 
I do not think so. 


Correspondent 


Kansas 
No. 1 Baxter Springs 

No. 2 Powhattan 


Minnesota 
No. 1 Winnebago 

No. 2 Beaulieu 

No. 3 Cass Lake 

IMf. TT V ^ 1 U I J 1 1 L 


Montana 
No. 1 Browning 
No. 2 Crow Ag'cy 

No. 3 Poplar 

No. 4 Jocko 

N^o. 5 Lciinc Deer 


No. 6 Lodge Grass 
No. 7 St. Ignatius 

No. 8 Wolf Point 



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Is the general condi- 
tion of the Indians as 
a body more satisfac- 
tory than ten years 
ago? 


■ 

Yes. 
Yes. 
Yes. 

No. Decidedly. 

Yes. 
Yes. 

Marked improvement. 
Better. 

Better. 

Better. 


Yes. 


'. to to 

• > >H 






Yes. 


Are the Indians hold- 
ing their allotments, 
or are the white peo- 
p 1 e procuring the 
same? 


... 

Very few sell their 
lands. 

Holding them. 


Whites buying all 
they can. 

Very few sales made. 
Whites hold large per 
cent. 

Holding allotments. 
Little dc IH3. nd for 
land 

Nearly all holding 
lands. 

Whites hold a little 
less than one-half. 


Sales just beginning. 

Full-bloods hold, 
mixed-bloods sell. 


Holding them. 






Holding them. 


In your opinion, has 
there been a high per- 
centage of deaths 
among the children, 
suffering from tuber- 
culosis, sent from the 
schools to their 
homes the past ten 
years? 


High percentage. 
No. 


No. 

Nearly all have died. 
Yes. 

Three fatal cases. 


Very low. 

One has died, there 
has not been. 


Yes. 




Yes. 






No. 


Have many children 
the past ten years, 
been dismissed from 
the schools? 


Very few. 

A good many, I think. 


None. 

I think not. 

Not 1 as many as 

should have been. 

Very few. 

Allowed to go home if 
diseased. 

Very small percent. 
Three. 


Yes. 




No rerord. 






No. 


Are children dis- 
charged from the 
schools because of 
diseases, properly 
treated at home? 


Cared for in the 
schools. 

Not treated at home. 




In most cases, no. 
Not treated at home. 

One or two cases. 
Not given proper 
care. 

Not as a rule. 
Few. 


Not given proper 

treatment. 

Few. 


No. 






No. 


Is there more tuber- 
culosis and trachoma 
among your Indians 
now than ten years 
ago? 


Less tuberculosis, 
more trachoma. 
Less tuberculosis, 
more trachoma. 
More satisfactory 
conditions. 
Less tuberculosis, 
more trachoma. 
No, I think not. 
Tuberculosis m ore, 
trachoma common 10 
years ago. 
We think not. 
Less tuberculosis. 

I do not think so. 

I do not think so. 


About the same. 

More tuberculosis 

No data. 

More trachoma. 


No data. 


No. 


Correspondent 


Oklahoma (cont.) 
No. 16 Lawton 

No. 17 Mountain 

View 
No. 18 Muskogee 

No. 19 Pawhuska 

No. 20 Pawhuska 
No. 21 Sapulpa 

No. 22 Shawnee 
No. 23 Watanga 

No. 24 White Eagle 

No. 25 Wyandotte 


Oregon 
No. 1 Klamath 

No. 2 Pendleton 

No. 3 Roseburg 
No. 4 Warm Spring 


Utah 

No. 1 Salt Lake City 


New York 
No. 1 Gowanda 



Yes. 
Yes. 

Naturally better on 
on account of selling 
land. 

Yes. 

Yes, but losing lands. 
Yes. 

Worse on account of 
whiskey which they 
get all the time. 
Yes. 

Generally, yes. 
Yes. 


Yes. 
Hardly. 

Yes. 

Conditions improved 
since Agency was es- 
tablished. 
No. 

Very much so. 
More satisfactory. 


Indians hold lands. 
Whites getting lands. 


Sold lands off reserv- 
ation only. 
Whites swindle 
lands. 

Not over 10% have 
passed into white 

Just now. 

Only few hold lands 
after reservation is 
opened. 

Whites encroaching. 
White people buying 
heirship lands. 


Cannot sell. 

Indians holding 

them. 

Whites not getting 
much. 

Indians hold no allot- 
ments. 

Yes, whites buy when 
they can. 

Large niimberat 
Stockridge have. Me- 
nominees not allot- 
ted. 

Indians holding 
them. 


All die. 




No. 




No. 

Some have. 
Seven died. 
Yes. 

Do not know. 


• CO 

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Cannot answer. 

No. 

No. 

No. 


Five. 

A good many. 


Do not know. 
Cannot say. 
Cannot tell. 

Quite a few. 

Twenty from our 
school. 

Five percent or less. 
Taken to government 
hospital. 


No. 
Some. 


No dismissals. 

Thirty, but some 
have been trans- 
ferred. 
No record. 

About fifteen. 


Yes. 

Never treated prop- 
erly at home. 


Yes. 

Not treated properly 
at home. 
Not as a rule. 

Never properly 
treated at home. 

We discharge only 
when very sick, and 
take charge of them. 
Occasionally. 
No. 




No, children not 
cared for at home. 

They get better treat- 
ment at the schools. 
No school at Agency. 

Yes. 

Yes, or not admitted. 
No. 


6 6 

Z z 


More tuberculosis, 
less trachoma. 
Perhaps not. 

More prevalent, I 
think. 

No. 

More tuberculosis, 
less trachoma. 

No. 

I think there is more 


No. 

No record of, ten 
years ago. Plenty 
now. 

I think not. 

There is some here. 

No. 

No. 

I think there is more. 


Washington 
No. 1 Bellingham 
No. 2 Bellingham 

No. 3 Marysville 

No. 4 Neah Bay 
No. 5 No. Yakima 
No. 6 Nespelem 

No. 7 St. Mary's 

No. 8 Takoma 

No. 9 Tulalip 
No. 10 Wheeler 


Wisconsin 
No. 1 Adanah 
No. 2 Ashland 

No. 3 Bayfield 
No. 4 Carter 

No. 5 Kesbena 

No. 6 Kesbena 

No. 7 Tomah 



Is the Government 
properly protect 
ing the Indians? 


Bureau of Educa- 
tion, yes; laws very 
bad. 


Not enough pro- 
tecting. 


No. 
It is. 


Yes, but hampered 
by law and politics 
No. 

Not as regards 
land and water. 

No. 


Vi CO CO 
CD CD CD 

> > > 


Are white men 
marrying Indian 
women in order to 
secure property? 


No. 






d d 


No. 
No. 

No. 

Law forbids inter- 
marriages. 


No. 
No. 

Only reprobates. 


Is the population 
increasing or de- 
creasing? 


Slightly decreas- 
ing. 

Slightly increas- 
ing. 

Decreasing. 


Slightly increas- 
ing. 

Decreasing 
among the full- 
bloods. 


Slight increase, I 
think. 

Slightly increas- 
ing 

Increasing. 
Increasing. 


Just holding i t s 
own. 

Slowly decreas- 
ing. 

About same. 

• 


Do the Indians 
who are trained 
near their homes 
do better than In- 
dians who are edu- 
cated at a d i s- 
tance and return? 


There is no differ- 
ence. 

Better, (Yes). 




co co 
CD <L> 
> > 


Yes. 
Yes. 

I think so. 
Most assuredly. 


About same. 
About same. 

Yes. 


Are the white peo- 
ple crowding your 
Indians and tak- 
ing advantage of 
them? 


Yes, to some ex- 
tent, but Indian 
retaliates. 


Not much. 


A little off the 
reservation. 
They are not. 


Yes, in regard to 
water. 

Yes, off the reser- 
vation. 

Among the Papa- 
gos but not the 
Pimas. 

Yes, if possible. 


No. 
No. 

Not crowding, but 
taking advantage 
of necessities. 


Which of the two 
classes are in the 
better condition, 
the mixed-blood 
or full-blood In- 
dian? 


Not much differ- 
ence. 


Both in poor 
shape. 


Mixed-bloods. 

Few mixed-bloods 
same condition. 




Few mixed-bloods, 
these not impr'v'd 
Mixed-b 1 o o d s, 
only a few, how- 
ever 

Very few mixed- 
bloods. 

No mixed bloods. 


Mixed-bloods. 

Few m i x e d- 
bloods, these are 
better. 

Mixed-bloods. 


Is immorality, in 
your opinion, due 
to the presence of 
low whites, or be- 
cause of the Indian 
himself? 


Both, former about 
five times as much 
as latter. 
Low whites 

Low whites. 


Indian himself. 

Due to old cus- 
toms. 


Cases due to In- 
dian. 

Due to Indian, be- 
cause of customs. 

To Indians. 
Low whites. 


Little immorality. 
Indian himself. 

Both. 


a 

CD 
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G 
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G 
in 
01 

o 
U 


Alaska 
No. 1 Nolato 

No. 2 St. Michaels 
No 3 




Arizona 
No. 1 Ft. Defiance 

No. 2 Parker 

No. 3 Phoenix 
No. 4 Sacaton 

No. 5 St. Michaels 
No. 6 Tucson 


California 
No. 1 Banning 

No. 2 Campo 
No. 3 Covelo 



Yes. 
Yes. 

No. 

Yes, all it can. 

No. 
Yes. 

Government has 
done very little. 


Yes. 


More energy need- 
ed. 
Yes. 

Intentions good, 
officials bad. 
No. 




Yes 

What is necessary 
Yes. 

No, in many re- 
spects. 

Failure. 
Yes. 

Yes. 


6 6 6 6 


6 6 


No. 


No. 

Law forbids it. 
Very seldom. 

No. 


Yes. 
No. 

No. 
No. 

Very few. 

Not often. 
Not to any ex- 
tent. 
Some. 


Increasing. 
Holding its own. 

Decreasing. 
Very slight i n- 
crease. 


Same. 

Seems to be on 
the increase now. 


Increasing three 
percent per year. 


Slightly increas- 
ing. 

Decreasing. 
Increasing. 

Increasing. 


Holding its own. 
Vacillating. 


Increasing. 
Slight increase. 

Increasing. 
Increasing. 


Few of them. 
No. 

Yes. 

Yes, much better. 

y es. 
Same. 




Yes. 


No difference 

noted. 

Yes. 

Home training 
seems best. 
Yes. 


Yes. 

Little difference. 


co co to co co 
<y CD CD <y cd 
> > > > > 


No. 

To no great ex- 
tent. 
No. 
No. 


6 6 


No. 


No not much. 

No. 
No. 

Yes. 


Yes. 
No. 

No. 
Yes. 

Only a large cattle 
company. 

Often. 

Not to any ex- 
tent. 
No. 




The mixed- 
bloods. 
Full-bloods. 
Very few f u 1 1- 
bloods here. 


Very few mixed- 
bloods here. 
Full-bloods. 


No mixed-bloods 
here. 


No difference. 

Full bloods. 
Mixed-bloods fi- 
nancially. 
Full-bloods. 


Mixed-bloods. 
Mixed-bloods. 

Mixed-bloods a 
little. 

Mixed-bloods. 
Mixed, material- 
ly, otherwise full- 
blood. 

Same. 
Not much differ- 
ence. 

Mixed-blood. 


Very few cases. 
To both. 

Low whites. 
Little immorality. 


Indian himself. 
Low whites. 


No whites here. 


Indian himself. 

Indian himself 
Low whites and 
mixe 1-bloods. 
To Government, 
because Indian 
cannot marry until 
eighteen. 


Both. 

Indian nature 
(himself). 


Both. 
Both. 

Low whites. 
Low whites. 

Indian (Mixed- 
blood). 


California (cont.) 
No. 4 El Cujon 
No. 5 Greenville 

No. 6 Likely 
No. 7 Pala 

No. 8 Ukiah 

No. 9 Yuma, Yuma 

No. 10 N. California 


Colorado 
No. 1 Navaho 

Springs 


No. Dakota 
No. 1 Elbowoods 

No. 2 Elbowoods 
No. 3 Ft. Yates 

No. 4 Standing 

Rock 


So. Dakota 
No. 1 Cheyenne 
No. 2 Crow Creek 

No. 3 Flandreau 
No. 4 Greenwood 

1\(J. O 1V1 L.J-/d 111111 

No. 6 Mission 
No. 7 Oahe 

No. 8 Pine Ridge 



Is the Government 
properly protect- 
ing the Indians? 




In some ways. 
Yes. 

Indians say no. 

Indians are 
citizens. 

To some extent. 

Dealt honestly 
with them. 


Yes. 

Yes and No. 
Yes, here. 
Not as regards 
morality and re- 
ligion. 






Yes. 

Yes, could be im- 
proved. 


Are white men 
marrying Indian 
women in order to 
secure property? 


Some. 
Some. 


Few. 

Some cases. 

Not now, few 

cases. 




Not many. 

Rarely. 
No. 
A few. 


No. 


No. 

No. (Some In- 
dians marry low 
white women.) 


Is the population 
increasing or de- 
creasing? 


Mixed-bloods in- 
creasing, f u 1 1- 
bloods decreas- 
ing. 

Increasing 1%. 

4500 to 5490. 
Increasing slowly. 

Increasing. 

Mixed-bloods in- 
creasing, f u 1 1- 
bloods decreas- 
ing. 

Slight increase. 


Decreasing. 

Don't know. 
Increase slightly. 
Decreasing. 


Increasing slowly. 


Decreasing. 
Increasing some. 


Do the Indians 
who are trained 
near their homes 
do better than In- 
dians who are edu- 
cated at a d i s- 
tance and return? 


Yes. 

Yes. 
Yes. 

Cannot tell. 
Yes. 

Little difference. 
Yes. 


Yes. 

Yes. 
Yes. 

Much better. 






CO « 
CD O 

> z 


Are the white peo- 
ple crowding your 
Indians and talc- 
ing advantage of 
them? 


No. 
No. 

Not much. 

Yes, when they 

can. 

Some try to. 
When they can. 

Some. 


No but would like 
to. 

Yes. 

Not generally. 
Yes, as much as 
they can. 


Whites encourage 
them, but few 
prey on them. No. 


When they get a 

chance. 

Yes. 


Which of the two 
classes are in the 
better condition, 
the mixed-blood 
or full-blood In- 
dian? 


Mixed-blood. 

Both in some re- 
spects. 
Mixed-blood. 
Hard to say, full- 
blood in health. 
Little difference. 

Little difference. 
Mixed-blood. 


Not much differ- 
ence. 

Full-bloods. 
Mixed-bloods. 
Mixed-bloods lit- 
tle better. 


No noticeable dif- 
ference. 


Mixed-bloods. 

Mixed-bloods, ex- 
cept morally. 


Is immorality, in 
your opinion, due 
to the presence of 
low whites, or be- 
cause of the Indian 
himself? 


Low whites. 
Both. 

Indian himself. 
Low whites. 
Indian mostly. 




Indian on sex, 
Low whites on li- 
quor. 

Low whites. 
Indian customs. 
Both. 


They keep aloof 
from whites. In- 
dians themselves. 


Indian himself. 
Indian himself. 


Correspondent 


So. Dakota (cont.) 
No. 9 Pine Ridge 

No. 10 Rosebud 

No. 1 1 Rosebud Ag. 
No. 12 Sisseton 

No. 13 Sisseton 

No. 13 Sisseton 

No. 15 St. Francis 


Idaho 
No. 1 Ft. Hall 

No. 2 Ft. Lapwai 
No. 3 Lapwai 
No. 4 Slickpoo 


Iowa 
No. 1 Toledo 


Kansas 
No. 1 Baxter 

Springs 
No. 2 Powhattan 



Indians dissatis- 
fied. 


Government inef- 
fective. 

Yes. 


Yes. 

Yes, all possible. 
Yes. 

Yes, all it can. 
Yes. 

Yes, but system 
wrong. 

To some extent. 
Trying to. 


Yes. 

Not in some cases. 


Yes. 

Yes, on reserva- 
tion. 


Not much now. 
75% increase. 

Y es but not 
many. 


Few. 

Two, but do not 
know the incen- 
tive. 

Few cases. 

Not to any ex- 
tent. 

Three marriages 
to whites in eight 
years. 

Very few whites 
marry Indians. 
Yes. 

No. 


6 6 
Z Z 


d 6 
Z Z 


Stationary. 


Full-b 1 o o d de- 
creasing, Mixed- 
blood increasing. 
Full-blood decreas- 
ing, mixed-bloods 
on the increase. 


Increasing for two 
years. 

Slowly decreasing. 

Increasing, Indian 
blood. 

Increasing slight- 
ly. 

Standstill. 

Slight increase. 

Full-bloods de- 
creasing, but the 
population in- 
creasing. 
Increasing. 


Standstill. 
Increasing. 


Increasing. 
Decreasing. 


03 CO CO 03 
CD CD CD CD 
>* >< >* > 


Cannot say. 
No difference. 

Yes. 
Yes. 
Same. 

No. 
Yes. 

Yes. 


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CD CD 
> > 


Yes, to a great ex- 
tent. 




o3 • 

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No whites here. 
No. 

Few whites here. 
Some trying to. 
No. 

No. 

Trying to. 
No. 


No, not to any ex- 
tent. 

Yes, when they 
can. 


No. 

Not on the reser- 
vation. 


Not much differ- 
ence. 


Full-blood. 

M i x e d-blood fi- 
nancially; f u 1 1- 
blood morally. 


Mixed-blood as a 
rule. 

Full-blood, but 
little difference. 

Mixed-blood. 

Mixed-blood. 

Both the same. 


Mixed-bloods ma- 
terially, f u 1 1- 
bloods morally. 

Full-bloods. 


Mixed-bloods. 

Full-bloods gener- 
ally. 


Full-bloods. 
Full-bloods. 


Low whites. 

Low whites. 
White man 90%. 

Low whites. 


Low whites. 
Indian nature. 

Early low whites. 

Indian himself. 

What little there 
is, is due to In- 
dian. 

Low whites helped. 
Low whites. 

Both. 


Indian himself. 
Both. 


No whites here. 
Both. 


Minnesota 
No. 1 Winnebago 

No. 2 Beaulieu 
No. 3 Cass Lake 

No. 4 Cloquet 


Montana 
No. 1 Browning 

No. 2 Crow Ag. 

No. 3 Poplar 

No. 4 Jocko 

No. 5 Lame Deer 

No. 6 Lodge Grass 
No. 7 St. Ignatius 

No. 8 Wolf Point 


Nebraska 
No. 1 Santee 

No. 2 Santee 


Nevada 
No. 1 Nixon 
No. 2 Schurz 



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Yes and No. 


Everything it can 

do. 

No. 

Partially so. 

J.NO. 

Trying to. 

Not doing all it 
can, or should. 

Doing a great deal. 

Do not think so. 
It is now. 

As far as Indian 

will let it. 

No. 

Government does 
not understand. 
Yes, but it makes 
mistakes. 


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In a few cases. 
Not to any ex- 
tent. 
A few. 

Not much now. 
Yes. 

Some, few. 
Not now. 

Not here. 

Not as much now. 

Yes, low whites 

are. 

Yes. 


Not now. 
Yes. 

Not as much now. 


Is the population 
increasing or de- 
creasing? 


Increasing. 
Standstill. 


Increasing. 
Increasing slight- 
ly. 

Increasing. 

Full-bloods d e- 
creasing. 


Increasing. 
Full-bloods d e- 
creasing. 

Increasing .slight- 

ly. 

Full-bloods d e- 
creasing, mixed 
increasing. 
Decreasing. 

Full bloods d c- 
creasing. 

Increasing. 

Decreasing. 
Decreasing. 

Decreasing. 


Do the Indians 
who are trained 
near their homes 
do better than In- 
dians who are edu- 
cated at a d i s- 
tance and return? 


6 6 
Z Z 


Same. 

Yes, as a rule. 

Yes. 

No. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

No difference. 
Cannot say.. 

No. 

No difference. 


Yes. 

I don't know. 
Same. 

yes. 


Are the white peo- 
ple crowding your 
Indians and tak- 
ing advantage of 
them? 


A certain c ass 

does. 

No. 


Some whites are. 
Yes, when they 
can. 
No. 

Yes. 

Very much. 

Yes. 
Yes. 

No. 

Many try to. 

Yes. 
Yes. 

When they can. 
Yes. 

When they can. 
Yes. 


Which of the two 
classes are in the 
belter condition, 
the mixed-blood 
or full-blood In- 
dian? 


Mixed-bloods. 
No mixed-bloods. 


Sa inc. 
Sa inc. 

Full-bloods. 
Mixed -bloods. 


Mixed-bloods. 
Mixed-bloods. 

Full-bloods, ex- 
ceptions favor 
mixed. 

Mixed-bloods. 

Mixed-bloods. 
Mixed-bloods. 


Mixed-bloods. 
Mixed-bloods. 

Mixed-bloods. 


Is immorality, in 
your opinion, d in- 
to the presence of 
low whites, or be- 
cause of the Indian 
himself? 


Indian himself. 
Indian himself. 


Both. 

Largely to low 
whites. 

Indian himself. 

To low whites. 

Both, mostly to 
whites. 
Low whites. 
Low whites. 

Low whites. 
Both. 

Low whites. 

Early low whites, 
now Indian. 

Both. 

Low whites. 
Both. 

Low whites. 


Correspondent 


New Mexico 
No. 1 Albuquerque 

No. 2 Gallup 


Oklahoma 
No. 1 Anadarko 
No. 2 Anadarko 

No. 3 Anadarko 

No. 4 Atoka 

No. 5 Bacone 

No. 6 Carnegie 
No. 7 Checotah 

No. 8 Darlington 

No. 9 Durant 

No. 10 Durant 
No. 1 1 Eufaula 

No. 12 Ilobart 

No. 13 Holdenville 
No. 14 Hugo 

No. 15 Hugo 



Yes. 

As well as Indian 
lets it. 

Making a consci- 
entious effort. 
All it can. 

As far as possible 


Doing efficient 

work. 

All it can. 

Yes, but needs 

changes. 

All it can. 


I think so. 
Yes. 

Yes. 
Yes. 






Yes, could be im- 
proved. 

Yes, but need po- 
lice. 

Yes, at least the- 
oretically. 


A few have. 
No. 

Not as a rule. 

Nearly every 
time. 

Yes. 

Yes. 


Two cases in 15 
years. 

No. 

Not markedly true. 


Not yet. 
No. 

Yes. 
No. 






None. 
They try. 
Very few. 


Increasing 15% in 
ten years. 
Increase. 


Full-bloods d e- 
creasing, popula- 
tion increasing. 
Increasing. 


Increasing. 

Mixed-bloods in- 
creased. F u 1 1- 
bloods, standstill. 
Increase. 

Slight increase. 


Standstill. 
Full-blood d e- 
creasing, mixed- 
blood increasing. 


Decreasing. 






Increasing. 
Standstill. 
Slowly decreasing. 


Yes. 

No difference. 
No. 

Yes 

Yes. 

Not if those 
trained away are 
well advanced. 
Young children 
do. 

No difference. 
Yes. 

No difference. 


I think so. 


CD O 

> z 






Yes. 

I think so. 




A certain class do. 
Many do. 
Yes. 
Yes. 

Yes. 
Yes. 

Some try to. 
Some try to. 

They cannot. 
All they can. 


No. 


Yes. 

Some do. 






They cannot. 

No, except gamb- 
lers. 
Few. 


Little difference. 
No difference. 
Mixed-bloods. 

1 Ull UlUUUo. 

Mixed-bloods. 
Full-bloods. 

Mixed-bloods. 
Same. 

Same. 
Same. 


Mixed-blood. 


Mixed-blood. 
Same. 






Same. 
vSame. 

Materially the 
mixed-bloods. 
Morally the full- 
bloods. 


Low whites. 
Both. 

Indian himself. 
Low whites. 

Low whites and 
colored people. 
Both. 

Both. 

Early whites. 
Both. 

Low whites. 


Indian himself. 


Both. 

Indian (no whites 
here.) 






No low whites here. 
Low whites. 




Oklahoma (cont.) 
No. 16 Lawton 

No. 17 Mountain 

View 
No. 18 Muskogee 

No. 19 Pawhuska 

No. 20 Pawhuska 
No. 21 Sapulpa 

No. 22 Shawnee 
No. 23 Watanga 

No. 24 White Eagle 
No. 25 Wyandotte 


Oregon 
No. 1 Klamath 

No. 2 Pendleton 

No. 3 Roseburg 
No. 4 Warm Sp. 


Utah 

No. 1 Salt Lake City 


Washington 
No. 1 Bellingham 

No. 2 Bellingham 

No. 3 Marysville 



Is the Government 
properly protect- 
ing the Indians? 


Yes. 
No. 

Doing very well. 

Yes. Lack of po- 
lice i? bad. 
Only on the res- 
ervation. 

Not sure it has. 

Yes and no. 


Too much red tape. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Done a great deal. 


Here it is. 

Yes. Mistakes are 
made. 


Not in some cases. 


Are white men 
marrying Indian 
women in order to 
secure property? 


No. 
Yes. 

Not very much. 

They try. 
Hardly ever. 

Not to any extent. 
Rare. 


Now and then. 
No. 

Occasionally 

No inter-marriages 
No. 

Not yet. 

Indians have no 
property. 


No. 


Is the population 
increasing or de- 
creasing? 


Some tribes in- 
crease, others de- 
crease. 

Holding own. 

Mixed-bloods in- 
creasing. F u 1 1- 
bloods decreasing. 
About the same. 

Increasing. 

Increasing slight- 
ly. 




Standing still. 
Decreasing. 
Full-bloods d e- 
creasing. Popu- 
lation increasing. 

Increasing. 

Small increase. 
Increasing. 

Increased a little. 






Do the Indians 
who are trained 
near their homes 
do better than In- 
dians who are edu- 
cated at a d i s- 
tance and return? 


In my opinion, 
no. 

Do not know. 
Yes, as a rule. 

I think so. 
Little difference. 

Yes. 
Yes. 


Yes. 
Yes. 

About same. 

None have gone 

away. 

Yes. 

Same. 

Yes, perhaps. 


No. 


6 5 Ji *o 

ll si. 


No, they assist 
them. 

Yes, in every way 

possible. 

Yes, in places. 

No. 

As soon as they 
can. 

When they can. 
Yes. 


No. 
No. 

Treated as whites. 

To a small degree. 

No whites here. 
Traders, outside, 
do. 

Not here. 


Only hotels and 
saloons. 


Which of the two 
classes are in the 
better condition, 
1 he mixed-blood 
or full-blood In- 
dian? 


All mixed-blood. 

Mixed-blood. 
Mixed-blood. 

About the same. 

Mixed, temporal- 
ly; f u 1 1-b 1 o o d 
otherwise. 
Mixed-blood. 

Full-blood. 


All mixed-bloods. 
Mixed-bloods. 
Full-bloods, mor- 
ally. Mixed fi- 
nancially and in- 
tellectually. 
Only full-bloods. 

Mixed-bloods. 
Full-bloods. 

What few mixed- 
breeds we h a v e 
are better. 


No full-bloods. 


Is immorality, in 
your opinion, due 
to the presence of 
low whites, or be- 
cause of the Indian 
himself? 


Indian nature. 

Low whites and 
colored people. 
Low whites. 

Whiskey 


Both. 

Low whites. 


Low whites. 
Both. 

Low wliites mostly. 

V Liy HlllL 1111I1UM- 

ality. 
Both. 
Both. 

Only to whites 
when they sell 
liquor. 


Indian himself. 


Correspondent 


Washington (Cont.) 
No. 4 Neah Hay 

No. 5 No. Yakima 
No. 6 Nespelem 

No. 7 St. Mary's 
No. 8 Tacoma 

No. 9 Tuialip 
No. 10 Wheeler 


Wisconsin 
No. 1 Adanah 
No. 2 Ashland 
No. 3 Bayfield 

No. 4 Carter 

No. 5 Kesbena 
No. 6 Kesbena 

No. 7 Tomah 


New York 
No. 1 Gowanda 



CHAPTER XXXIII. FARMING AND STOCK-RAISING 
INDIAN FAIRS 

Commissioner Sells has made the "gospel of work" the chief aim of 
his administration. That is, he has emphasized and encouraged farming 
and stock-raising. Before quoting from the Commissioner's reports and 
circulars on this subject, it should not be taken amiss if the statement is 
made that during the administrations of Commissioners Morgan and 
Jones, this important feature of Indian education was not sufficiently 
emphasized. Many of the central, northern and mountain Indians took 
naturally to stock-raising. With the care of the horse, they were familiar. 
It was but a step from horse-raising to cattle-raising, as has been illus- 
trated in the case of the Sioux (page 309). Truly, a number of tribes 
possessed more cattle a generation ago than at the present time. 

From information received, I take it that under the administrations 
of Messrs. Leupp and Valentine, a serious effort was made to encourage 
farming and stock-raising, on a larger scale. While this new movement 
may have been inaugurated by either Mr Leupp or Mr. Valentine, when 
Mr. Abbott became acting Commissioner, he encouraged and expanded 
efforts in this direction. Orders were issued to Superintendents, giving 
greater discretion in supervising individual Indian moneys; the leasing 
policy was simplified and self-supporting Indians permitted to lease their 
surplus lands and to a greater extent handle their own funds; a higher 
standard with larger salary was established for the Indian Service farmer, 
who was expected to do house to house work among the Indians under his 
supervision, giving practical advice and securing definite results in the way 
of increased production from Indian land; active cooperation between the 
Bureaus of Plant and Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture 
was promoted; the Civil Service Commission provided tests for farmers 
intended to secure men with more experience and practical equipment, and 
the United States was divided into four Civil Service districts in order 
that eligible farmers might be secured for that part of the Indian country 
where their farming experience had been obtained. The possibilities of 
the working out of this policy in all its phases was demonstrated particularly 
on the Winnebago reservation in Nebraska, where in three years while 
Albert H. Kneale was Superintendent, this tribe of Indians was practically 
transformed into one of the most sober and industrious groups of Indians 
to be found on any allotted Indian reservation in the United States. From 
3000 acres of Indian-farmed land, in the first year, under the new program, 



360 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



which gave the Superintendent freedom to act without discouraging delays 
in Washington, there were 12,000 acres farmed by Indians at the end of 
three years, and so many of the Indians had moved to their allotments 
that the Dutch Reformed Church had to build a new church and locate 
an additional missionary out in the heart of the reservation in order to 
reach its Indian adherents. 

With the advent of Mr. Sells, as has been stated, the Department 
realized that if the Indian is to be saved, much more should be done than 
the mere issuance of instructions to Superintendents. Assistant Commis- 
sioner, Edgar B. Meritt has, the past few years, been very active in ad- 
vocating reimbursable appropriations for Indians in order that they might 
purchase live stock and farming implements to improve their large areas 
of agricultural lands. 

Mr. Sells' official instructions, under date of September 2, 1914, to all 
Superintendents are as follows : — 

"I am not satisfied that we are making the greatest use of our school 
farms. They usually consist of large tracts of fertile land capable of raising 
every crop that the climate in which the school is located will permit. In 
some cases these farms are well irrigated. 

"In every case the schools have been or can be furnished with all the 
equipment necessary to till their farms to the fullest extent, and they can 
be furnished with stock with which to make a substantial showing in 
stock-raising. 

"The agricultural training of the boy pupils in our schools furnishes 
ample opportunity for intensive farming. If this training is to be of real 
value and be effective in accomplishing its purpose, the farming operations 
should be financially successful and at the same time conducted in accord- 
ance with modern methods. 

"I am convinced that there is a large field for improvement in the 
handling of these farms, and I want every field officer who has charge of 
such a farm to see that its management is of such a nature as will insure 
its development to the highest degree of productiveness, practical useful- 
ness and object lesson. 

"The constantly increasing demands on the various appropriations 
for the Indian Service make it necessary not only to exercise the most 
careful economy consistent with the end sought, but at the same time to 
see that every resource in connection with Indian education and industry 
is developed to the highest obtainable degree. 

"See that employees in charge of your farms are men capable of 
rendering proper and efficient service, carefully determine the suitable 



FARMING AND STOCK-RAISING 



361 



crops for the particular soil of the tillable land of your farm, giving the 
best attention to the raising and use of these crops. 

"Our farms should grow corn, oats, wheat, and raise alfalfa, clover, 
timothy, etc. You should raise all the potatoes and other vegetables con- 
sumed. We should not be satisfied with raising feed for the school livestock, 
but we should raise everything the farm, garden and orchard will produce. 

"I want you to raise livestock to the fullest of your capacity; raise 
colts from the school mares; let your calves grow into beef for your school. 
Grow a good herd of hogs to follow the cattle that you feed and use the waste 
from the table at the school. Make your dairy amply large and of such 
kind that there will be plenty of milk, cream and butter. Feed the skim- 
milk to the hogs and grow your pork meat. Where practicable cure your 
own bacon and ham, make your own sausage and dry and corn your own 
beef." 

There is more, but this will indicate the earnest effort of the Com- 
missioner to improve conditions. 

In recent years, Indian fairs have become very popular, and are held 
on most reservations, or at schools. The old "Wild West" feature has 
been eliminated. At Red Lake, Minn., September 19th, 1914, the Ojibwa 
fair was attended by 2000 persons. The published account in the New York 
World stated : — 

"Exhibits of grain grown by the Indians included specimens of oats, 
barley and wheat that would average twenty-five bushels to the acre, and 
yellow dent corn fully matured. 

"What was perhaps next in importance was the stock display, which 
included blooded animals, the registered Holstein and Durham cattle being 
most numerous. The judging of the stock was done by Supt. C. G. Selvig, 
of the Crookston School. 

"There was also a fine display of vegetables and fruit, all of which 
were raised by the Indians. The exhibits included cantaloupes and sugar- 
sweet watermelons. There were also crab apples and displays of other 
apples and fruits. 

"The women and girls had exhibits of bread, pies, cakes, jellies, 
preserves, pickles, and other dainties. But probably the most artistic and 
beautiful display ever seen at a county fair was found in the display of 
beaded work. These exhibits not only were done neatly, but the beaded 
designs and colorings were gorgeous. The exhibit included among other 
things head dress, sacques, moccasins, dresses, belts, hat bands, banners, 
buckskin leggings, and jackets. All were new, having been made by the 
Chippewas the past year for display at the fair. 



FARMING AND STOCK-RAISING 



363 



"There was no disorder nor intoxication." 

Commissioner Sells seized upon the fair proposition as a means of 
extending industry. A portion of his sensible address to Superintendents 
is: — 

"You should now be arranging for your Indian fair, and I desire to 
impress upon you my idea of the purpose and possibilities of these 
exhibitions. 

"I want these fairs so conducted as to open to the Indians the vision 
of the industrial achievements to which they should aspire. I want them 
to be an inspiration in arousing in the Indian a clear appreciation of the 
great opportunity before him for real industrial advancement. 

"The ownership of land always has been and always must be the 
principal basis of man's wealth. A wise development of the vast natural 
resources of the Indian reservations has tremendous possibilities. The 
Indian's rich agricultural lands, his vast areas of grass land, his great 
forests and his practically untouched mineral resources should be so utilized 
as to become a powerful instrument for his civilization. 

"I hold it to be an economic and social crime, in this age and under 
modern conditions, to permit thousands of acres of fertile lands belonging 
to the Indians and capable of great industrial development to lie in un- 
productive idleness. 

"With keen appreciation of these conditions Congress in the current 
appropriation bill has made available for the Indians over $600,000 as a 
reimbursable fund, and $250,000 additional for general and specific indus- 
trial use, all for the purchase of stock and farm equipment, as well as 
about $800,000 of the funds of the Confederated Bands of Utes for the 
civilization and support of those Indians. 

"I feel that a serious obligation rests upon me and upon every employee 
of the Indian Service to see that no effort is spared to make the most of 
the great opportunity which the Indian's property and the action of Con- 
gress now presents to the Indian. It is my duty to require that every 
supervising officer, every Superintendent, every farmer, every stockman, 
and in fact every employee of the Indian Service meets this obligation in 
full measure. 

"The political conditions of the world will make the next few years 
a period of great prosperity for the American farmer. Let us see that the 
Indian with his broad acres is in truth an American farmer and that he 
properly participates in this unusual opportunity. 

"I desire that our Indian fairs this year be made the opening of an 
intelligent and determined campaign for the industrial advancement of 



364 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



the Indian. Let this year's fair mark the start of the Indian along the road, 
the purpose of which is self-support and independence — hereafter let 
your fair each year be a milestone fixing the stages of the Indian's progress 
toward that goal. 

" It is the primary duty of all Superintendents to understand the 
Indians under their charge, to study the resources of the reservation for 
which they are responsible, its climate, the character of its land, the type 
of cattle owned by the Indians, their horses, their sheep and their other 
stock. ^ h< * * * 




INDIANS RECEIVING INSTRUCTION IN PLUMBING. HASKELL INSTITUTE, KANSAS 



"Former widespread negligence and mismanagement in the cultivation 
of the soil, the breeding of stock, and the handling of grazing land is no 
excuse for the continuance of such conditions, and they will not be per- 
mitted to exist on an Indian reservation during my administration. 

44 Be continually at the fair yourself with your farmers and all of your 
industrial employees. 

"Let the exhibits emphasize in an impressive manner the difference 
between inferior and high-grade agricultural products, and let them 



FARMING AND STOCK-RAISING 



365 



demonstrate in no uncertain way that greater profit results from raising the 
best and the most of everything produced on the farm or ranch. Encourage 
the Indian to take the progressive view. This should not be difficult where 
he has before him a clear object lesson such as is emphasized by placing 
his horses, cattle and sheep, his corn, oats, wheat, alfalfa and forage on 
exhibition in legitimate rivalry with those of his neighbor at the Indian fair. 

"The improvement of stock should be aggressively advocated and 
impressed upon the mind of every Indian farmer and stock-raiser. He 
should be brought to understand that the thousands of well-bred bulls, 




- - ' : - " . '~ ^- ■ : 



NAVAHO SUMMER HOGAN 
From G. W. James' "Indian Blankets and their Makers" 

stallions and rams were purchased during the last few months to do away 
with the evils of lack of sufficient and well-bred male stock and the in- 
breeding almost universal in the past. He should understand that in order 
to secure the best results the male stock must not only be improved but that 
the old and worse than useless male animals which have heretofore been 
so destructive to the Indian's success as a stock-raiser must be disposed of." 



366 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The Carlisle school farms this summer were quite prosperous, as 
were farms at all the educational centers. The Carlisle Arrow of September 
4th, says : — 

The First Farm 

" The forty-eight cows and the six head of young cattle are in fine 
condition, as are also 70 hogs, averaging 125 pounds; 30 shoats, averaging 
30 pounds; 22 small pigs, and 12 brood sows. 

"The average amount of milk produced during the summer months 
was eighty gallons a day, and butter, eighty pounds a week. 

"There is material for hundreds of tons of ensilage." 

The Second Farm 

"The wheat and oats were unusually good and the yield was abundant. 
There are thirty acres of fine potatoes. The large flocks of turkeys and 
chickens are thriving. The number of eggs gathered have kept the hospital 
well supplied throughout the summer." 

"The school garden crop exceeds, in quantity of production, any on 
record. The farms also have yielded abundantly, making this a record- 
breaking year for Carlisle in the fruition of agricultural products." 

The Indian fairs, now so popular on many reservations, will play no 
small part in solving the Indian problem. It does not matter which one 
of the Commissioners inaugurated this most excellent incentive to work 
and progress. Whoever was responsible for it, hit upon a most happy 
expedient. Manifestly, the Indians should be encouraged to continue 
these fairs and to engage in honest competition. Everyone will heartily 
approve of the scheme to abandon, or curtail, the "Wild West" feature — 
of which we have had entirely too much the past thirty years. 

A few years ago, Indian farms, formerly under cultivation, had grown 
up to bushes in Minnesota and Oklahoma. If the plans of the Indian 
Office, as outlined above, are carried to a successful termination, most of 
these tracts will again come under cultivation. The Indian will feel en- 
couraged to labor, especially so since the fruits of his toil will accrue to 
him rather than to the white man. The reimbursable appropriations and 
the encouragement of industry are two of the most hopeful signs of Indian 
progress. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. FOUR IMPORTANT BOOKS 



As I write this page there lie before me four important Indian books, 
and I would that every reader possessed them in his library, for the very 
good reason that all of them treat of the Indian of today. Two of them 
are strictly historical, and the other two sufficiently accurate to be included 
in that category. 

These books are: Helen Hunt Jackson's "Century of Dishonor," 
published in 188<6; Seth K. Humphrey's "The Indian Dispossessed," 
published in 1906; Honorable Francis E. Leupp's "The Indian and His 
Problem," published in 1910; and Honorable James McLaughlin's "My 
Friend the Indian," 1910. 

The authors of these books are all familiar with the Indian problem 
and Indian conditions, but approach the subject from somewhat different 
points of view. 

Honorable F. E. Leupp was for years Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 
Major McLaughlin has served in the Indian Service forty-two years, and 
was on the frontier among the Sioux prior to that time. Helen Hunt 
Jackson was a noble woman who became interested, first in the Mission 
Indians of California, and afterwards in all Indians of the United States. 
She wrote her "Century of Dishonor" and lived to see its influence spread 
throughout the English-speaking world. A number of editions were 
published. S. K. Humphrey, Esq., a Bostonian, who has long been a 
staunch friend of Indians, presents in his book the legal point of view of 
the breaking of treaties and agreements, and the despoilation of the follow- 
ing tribes : — Mission Indians, Poncas, Nez Perces, Umatillas, etc. Each 
of these authors treats of the modern Indian, and I desire to call attention 
in my plea for him, to the testimony of these competent witnesses — 
"Lest we forget." 

Major McLaughlin has been United States Indian Inspector during 
more years than any other man in the inspection corps. He visited all 
the reservations in the United States, and he understands the Indian. 

Beginning with the early days on the Plains, he relates his personal 
experiences, and gives sound advice in the handling of Indian affairs. From 
all I can gather from reading accounts of, or talking with frontiersmen, 
who fought against Indians; officers of our troops in Indian wars; former 
Indian Agents; and after study of Government and Missionary reports, 
I think McLaughlin is correct when he says concerning the Indians of 
forty years ago — 



368 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



'"And they were a very different body of men. physically, from the 
Indians of today. They wore an air of sturdy independence. They were 
equipped according to their natural requirements. Their minds were 
generally attuned to magnificent ideas of time and distance. They ab- 
horred the limitations that the white man accepts as affecting his dwelling- 
place. They were foes to be reckoned with, or they might be converted 
into friends worth the having. It is a matter of profound regret that the 
Indian of that day could not have been advanced to his present knowledge 
of. and capacity for. civilized pursuits without being subjected to the 
debasing and degenerating physical and moral conditions that were in- 
separable from the process of transmutation." 

Major McLaughlin is perfectly correct in his chapter "Give the 
Red Man His Portion" when he states that the enormous sums of money, 
tribal and individual, now held by the United States should be divided 
among them. Otherwise, the swarm of shyster lawyers, feasting on Indian 
claims, will continue to increase. Congress should act immediately and 
provide for the division of this money, even though some of the Indians 
squander it. So long as fully 848.848.744 remains in the United States 
Treasury, just so long will we have this continual fight with ''claim at- 
torneys", and the Indians will not work pending the distribution of this 
great wealth. The Scriptural quotation which was somewhat changed 
by one of the speakers at the Lake Mohonk Conference last year, expresses 
this view most admirably — "Where the Indian money lies, there will 
the grafters be gathered together." 

At the time of this writing Major McLaughlin is still a valued em- 
ployee of the L'nited States Indian Service. L'ndoubtedly he could have 
written a great deal stronger than he did. Reading between the lines 
of his book, I take it that the Major now realizes that the chief reason 
for the almost utter failure of our Indian policy is because of lack of proper 
protection of Indian property rights and health, and further, that the 
citizenship we handed the Indian, and of which our orators in Congress 
and in benevolent organizations had so much to say, has proved a hollow 
mockery and a sham. 

I am not aware that Mr. Humphrey lays claim to legal training, but 
his book presents in a masterly fashion, exactly what has been done to the 
Indians who have accepted the pledged word of our civilized country. 
It is not a sentimental book, but a carefully prepared narrative drawn 
from official documents, and should have had an effect on our Congress 
and Interior Department long ago. 



FOUR IMPORTANT BOOKS 



369 



In the first chapter of "The Indian and His Problem", Mr. Leupp 
pays the Indian a merited tribute and sets forth his independence, his many 
virtues and his character. He emphasizes a trait of the oldtime Indian 
not generally understood — his honesty. 

"Old, experienced traders among the Indians have repeatedly in- 
formed me that they had lost less money on long-standing Indian accounts, 
aggregating large sums, than in their comparatively small dealings with 
the white people in their neighborhoods. One successful trader among 
the Sioux who, in the early nineties, lent some $30,000 to the Indians near 
him in anticipation of a payment they were soon to receive, said after- 
ward: 'I did not lose more than $150 on the whole transaction, and that 
I lost from a half-breed who did not live on the reservation.' The same 
testimony is borne on all sides, and the universal comment is that, until 
they were taught how to cheat in a trade, very few of them ever thought 
of doing so. I have seen Indians at a Government pay-table, after re- 
ceiving their annuities, walk up to the Agent or some employee with so 
many dollars held out in their palms, to repay a loan which the creditor 
had forgotten all about. These instances, I ought to add, were observed 
among Indians of a pretty backward class, who were acting simply in 
obedience to their natural impulses." 

Mr. Leupp states frankly in his preface : - — 

"The Indian problem has now reached a stage where its solution is 
almost wholly a matter of administration." 

Because he served in various Indian capacities for almost twenty- 
five years with organizations as well as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
and as in that latter office it was his duty and privilege to regard the sub- 
ject in its broad aspect, an extended review of his book is entirely proper. 

Under Chapter II, "What Happened to the Indian," he discusses 
what we all know, the end of the "buffalo days", and the beginning of 
the ration system. He maintains that this encouraged idleness. Along 
with the ration and reservations systems sprang up the educational plan 
for the benefit of Indians. At first there were few government schools, 
and many denominational. The Government increased its appropriations 
to support these sectarian schools until in 1870 it was $100,000, and later 
the amounts were much larger. This brought about an unfortunate and 
unnecessary dispute between the denominations, the Protestant and 
the Catholic. Hard feelings were engendered, and instead of working 
together in amity to Christianize and educate the Indians, all these worthy 
people were engaged in a dispute as to who should receive the most money 
from the United States Treasury! We may imagine the feelings and 




A FULL-BLOOD SIOUX GIRL, 1888 



FOUR IMPORTANT BOOKS 



371 



opinions of the brighter Indians as they viewed this unchristian and un- 
charitable dispute. The Government had to withdraw support from all 
denominational schools and as a result many closed their doors while 
others struggled along. Comparing the Government school system and 
the denominational, Leupp says : - — 

"In dimensions, in scholastic scope, and in material equipment, the 
Government school system as it stands today is an enormous advance on 
the old mission school system; but in real accomplishment as proportioned 
to outlay it does not begin to equal the latter, and in vital energy it must 
always be lacking. The reason for these differences is not far to seek. 
At the base of everything lies the fact that, except in magnificence, no 
governmental enterprise can compare with the same thing in private 
hands. The Government's methods are ponderous, as must always be 
the movements of so gigantic a machine. Its expenditures are from money 
belonging to the public, and therefore demand a more elaborate arrange- 
ment of checks and balances and final accounting than expenditures made 
from the funds of voluntary contributors. In spite of the now universal 
application of civil service rules, the whole business is under political 
control in the sense that the appropriations and the laws governing their 
use must be obtained from Congress, and that the school system is only 
a branch of one of the executive departments. This circumstance, while 
not necessitating the intrusion of partisan considerations into the settle- 
ment of any vexed question, does militate against the highest efficiency, 
because it requires that a great deal of ground shall be traversed two, 
three or a dozen times on the way to a clearly visible conclusion, involves 
harassing delays and temporary discouragements, calls for tedious con- 
sultations over petty details which one mind could dispose of more satis- 
factorily, and keeps the administrative staff always in a state of preparation 
to repel gratuitous interference." 

Of the four books, the one that appeals to me most of all is that written 
by Helen Hunt Jackson. Bishop Whipple, long a friend of the Indian, 
wrote the preface to the edition of 1880. Page 7 is worthy of preservation. 

"All this while Canada has had no Indian wars. Our Government 
has expended for the Indians a hundred dollars to their one. They recog- 
nize, as we do, that the Indian has a possessory right to the soil. They 
purchase this right, as we do, by treaty; but their treaties are made with 
the Indian subjects of Her Majesty. They set apart a permanent reser- 
vation for them; they seldom remove Indians; they select Agents of 
high character, who receive their appointments for life; they make fewer 
promises, but they fulfil them; they give the Indians Christian missions, 



372 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



which have the hearty support of Christian people, and all their efforts 
are toward self-help and civilization. An incident will illustrate the two 
systems. The officer of the United States Army who was sent to receive 
Alaska from the Russian Government stopped in British Columbia. Gov- 
ernor Douglas had heard that an Indian had been murdered by another 
Indian. He visited the Indian tribe; he explained to them that the mur- 
dered man was a subject of Her Majesty; he demanded the culprit. The 
murderer was surrendered, was tried, was found guilty, and was hanged. 
On reaching Alaska the officer happened to enter the Greek church, and 
saw on the altar a beautiful copy of the Gospels in a costly binding studded 
with jewels. He called upon the Greek bishop, and said, 'Your Grace, 
I called to say you had better remove that copy of the Gospels from the 
church, for it may be stolen.' The bishop replied, 'Why should I remove 
it? It was the gift of the mother of the Emperor, and has lain on the altar 
seventy years.' The officer blushed, and said, 'There is no law in the 
Indian country, and I was afraid it might be stolen.' The bishop said, 
'The book is in God's house, and it is His book, and I shall not take it 
away.' The book remained. The country became ours, and the next day 
the Gospel was stolen." 

Mrs. Jackson takes up in detail the despoiling of the Indians 
even more thoroughly than Mr. Humphrey. She treats of the Delawares, 
Cheyennes, Nez Perces, Sioux, Poncas, Winnebagoes, Cherokees, Cali- 
fornia Indians, etc. She devotes a gruesome chapter to the massacre of 
Indians by white people She devotes an appendix of 171 pages (small 
type), to a narration of outrages perpetrated by white people on Indians, 
broken treaties, and outrageous treatment of Indians by Whites. The 
appendix includes a spirited correspondence with Secretary of the Interior, 
Hon. Carl Schurz. There are also several letters to the Rocky Mountain 
News, a Denver paper, edited by Mr. W. N. Byers. The letters were 
written in 1880. Schurz was Secretary, it should be remembered, when 
the famous Ponca case occurred. A tribe of Indians had been forcibly 
taken from their homes. Through friends in Boston and Philadelphia, 
who had their case brought before the courts and were sustained in their 
contentions, these Poncas were returned to their reservation. As to the 
Byers correspondence, the citizens of Denver had attacked and killed a 
large number of Indian men, women and children located in a village on 
Sand Creek, some distance from the mining camps. Mrs. Jackson clearly 
has the better of both arguments. 

It is unfortunate that the present condition of some of the Indian 
bands does not arouse the same interest as did the case of the Poncas. 



FOUR IMPORTANT BOOKS 



373 



The Chippewas of Minnesota suffered far greater wrongs than fell to the 
lot of the Poncas, and yet there has been no outburst of righteous indig- 
nation because of what happened to them. 

In 1871, near Camp Grant, Arizona Territory, there were a number 
of Apaches encamped under the jurisdiction of the United States authorities 
and these Indians did not wish to join Geronimo and others in their raids 
in the Southwest and Old Mexico. By the 11th of March, 1871, there were 
over 300 Indians assembled near the camp. They had brought in, in a 
short time, more than 300,000 pounds of hay which the officer in command 
purchased. In view of the hostility of Geronimo and his band, that the 
Apaches should desire peace, and be willing to work, seemed incompre- 
hensible in the Southwest. The frontier element — always hostile to 
Indians — resented their presence. The Indians continued to come in 
and presently there were 510 in the camp. 

The 30th of April, these Indians were attacked by a large force of 
white men from Tucson, Arizona. The gentleman who furnished Mrs. 
Jackson with the information was C. B. Brierley, Acting Assistant Surgeon, 
United States Army. Mrs. Jackson presents Surgeon Brierley's report 
in detail. We need not present particulars, save to say that a large number 
of the Indians were surprised and killed while in camp and that the white 
people of Tucson, not satisfied with killing the men, mutilated the dead 
bodies of women and children. 

A Mr. J. H. Lyman of Northampton, Mass., was a pioneer in Arizona 
in 1840 and 1841. He made a report to the Board of Indian Commissioners 
in 1871 which explains the hostility in later years of the Apaches toward 
the white people, as to how one Johnson agreed with the Governor of 
Senora to procure Indian scalps at an ounce of gold each. Johnson killed 
large numbers of women and children — and a few warriors. Mrs. Jackson 
reprints most of his report. 

Mrs. Jackson's book, as I have previously stated, created a profound 
impression in this country and in England. None of the hundreds of facts 
and incidents contained in her "Century of Dishonor" were ever success- 
fully denied. Many of the recommendations offered by her are sound 
and could be applied with profit at the present time, although thirty years 
have elapsed since she laid down her pen. 

Mr. Humphrey may be said to have carried her work down to present 
times (1906), although there is much to our discredit since he wrote. 

As to the irrigation problems, he says : — 

"Whether he were the defenceless beginner of the Northwest, or 
the skilful agriculturalist of the Southwest desert with ancient systems 



374 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



of irrigation, the Indian was never regarded as a man. The forceful settler 
dispossessed the irrigating Indian with even less than usual formality 
because his highly-cultivated lands were the more valuable, — either by 
driving him into the desert and pre-empting his land, or by diverting 
his water, thus making his land a desert. Typical of these Indians were 
the four thousand Pimas of Arizona. They had practised agriculture by 
irrigation along the Gila River for more than three centuries. In the 
language of the early records, 'they are farmers and live wholly by tilling 
the soil, and in the earlier days of the American history of the territory 




SEMINOLE INDIAN HOUSES AND CYCLONE CELLAR. WEWOKA, OKLAHOMA, 1913 



they were the chief support of both the civil and military elements of this 
section of the country.' 

"In 1886 the Whites began to divert the waters of the Gila River. 
A suit in the federal court was talked of to maintain the clear rights of the 
Indians, but never pressed. No district attorney who would prosecute 
such a case against voting white men could expect to live politically. 
Within seven years the Pimas were reduced from independence to the 
humiliation of calling for rations, while the white settlers used the Indians 
water undisturbed. 



FOUR IMPORTANT BOOKS 



375 



" 'Enough has been written about the need of water for the starving 
Indians to fill a volume,' wrote the discouraged Agent, after ten years. 
4 It has been urgently presented to your honorable office time and again, 
and yet the need of water is just as great and the supply no greater.' So 
the years went on. In 1900 came the cry from the desert, 'This water, 
their one resource, their very life, has been taken from them, and they 
are, perforce, lapsing into indolence, misery, and vice.' Thirty thousand 
dollars was appropriated for more rations. 

"Finally, after eighteen years, the suit to recover the Indians' rights 
received its final quietus. The district attorney reported in 1904: 'There 
is no doubt but that the case could be taken up and prosecuted to a favor- 
able ending, but . . it would be impossible for the court to enforce its decree, 
and the expense of prosecuting such suit would cost between twenty and 
thirty thousand dollars.' 

"This Government long ago lost the right to say that it could not 
enforce a federal law against less than a thousand of its agricultural citizens. 
Its officials would not disturb the political balance of Arizona." 

As to the opposing forces — the uplift, and its antithesis — he writes: — 

"But there is another side to this picture. During all these years 
of trouble, the Indian was faithfully attended by a great Unselfishness, 
always striving to re-establish him, to educate and enlighten him. The 
Government met with no opposition in administering this portion of its 
trust, and the workers were granted its most generous and intelligent 
support; for the high ideals of the people have always been the Govern- 
ment's inspiration, even though it be often led to action by a selfish few. 

"It is not within the scope of this book to recount the great good 
that has come to the Indian through this branch of the Indian Service, 
save to make full acknowledgment here of its greatness. It has done much 
more than attend the Indian's education. Many a tribe, and many in- 
dividual Indians have had saved to them tracts of good land, upon which 
they have worked their way toward civilization. Indeed, had it not been 
for the constant presence of these among the Indians who labored for 
their good, little good land would have been left to any Indians. 

"These are the two great influences which have shaped the Indian's 
destiny; one, steadily hewing away the foundation — his land; the other, 
faithfully moulding the superstructure — his education; both generously 
supported by a vote-seeking Congress. 

"Where the first has failed, the Indian is coming into full citizenship 
through agriculture, education, and Christian teaching. Where both have 
succeeded in their opposing efforts, we find the Indian figuratively, and 



376 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



often literally, on the rocks; educated, saved, and forlorn, — amiable, 
but aimless, in liis arrested development. He has missed the fundamental 
lesson of mankind." 

Mr. Humphrey's conclusions may here be reproduced in part. 

"When we hear of dark injustice among the natives of Africa, or in 
Russia's Siberian wastes, we turn in horror from the oppressed to vent 
indignation upon the oppressor. But when the tale of our own Poor Lo 
is told, we lift our eyes to Heaven — not being so well able to see ourselves 




INDIANS' COMMERCIAL DEPARTMENT. HASKELL INSTITUTE 



as to see others — and murmur, reverently, ' 'Tis the Survival of the Fit- 
test!' Those who think lightly are wont to exclaim impatiently, that 
the Indian's story is a closed book. It is — nearly so; but the book of 
history is never closed except by those who think lightly. * * * * * 
"Bishop Whipple of Minnesota, who gave the best part of his life 
to the Indian cause, declared, after recounting the acts of broken faith 
which led up to the great Sioux massacre of 1863, 'I submit to every man 
the question whether the time has not come for a nation to hear the cry 
of wrong, if not for the sake of the heathen, for the sake of the memory 



FOUR IMPORTANT BOOKS 



377 



of our friends whose bones are bleaching on our prairies. 5 This bookful 
of wrongs, and volumes more, have been perpetrated since. * * * * 

"Col. Richard I. Dodge, after thirty-three years on the Plains as 
Indian fighter, displays in his 'A Living Issue,' this same confiding hope: 
'It is too much to expect any one of these (politicians) to risk the loss 
of votes and thus jeopardize his future career for a miserable savage. 
Politicians will do nothing unless forced to it by the great, brave, honest, 
human heart of the American people. To that I appeal! To the press; 
to the pulpit; to every voter in the land; to every lover of mankind. For 
the honor of our common country; for the sake of suffering humanity; 
force your representative to meet this issue 5 ." ***** 

"Thirty years ago a Commissioner of Indian Affairs delivered him- 
self of a fervent opinion which should become classic. The miserable 
story of the California Indians had dragged itself through twenty-five 
years; every measure of relief had been blocked in Congress by the inter- 
ested few — the Vociferous Few in the Indian country. 'This class of 
Indians, 5 concludes the Commissioner, 'seems forcibly to illustrate the 
truth that no man has a place or a fair chance to exist under the Govern- 
ment of the United States who has not a part in it.' A more illuminating 
commentary on the Indian's unhappy status in the land of the Free can 
hardly be written in one sentence. The Indian's story does not argue 
that the Indian should have been at any time given the protection of the 
franchise; but it does argue that in a loose-jointed republic where national 
legislation is at the beck and call of every little coterie of irresponsible 
voters, the Indian has been subjected to more devilish variations of human 
caprice than if he were at the mercy of an openly oppressive, but more 
consistent and centralized style of government. There is no despotism 
more whimsically cruel than that of men unused to power, who suddenly 
find themselves in absolute control of a people whose one vital interest 
— an advantageous foothold on good land — is in continual conflict with 
their own chief desire— the possession of that same good land." 

I have reprinted from these books for a definite purpose. All four 
authors had practical experience with Indian affairs; all knew their sub- 
jects — not one was visionary. Our historians and public officials have 
denied none of the statements contained in these books. Since the abuses 
continue, and we have forgotten the lessons of the past, it now remains 
for us to change our Indian policy — to do so absolutely. We have been 
repeatedly warned, we cannot escape our responsibility. 



CHAPTER XXXV. OFFICIAL VIEWS OF INDIAN 
CONDITIONS 

Commissioner Sells very kindly instructed a number of his Supervisors 
and Superintendents to reply to my fourteen questions covering the present 
condition of our Indians. The questions need not be repeated as they are 
given in the table, Chapter XXXII. 

These replies present the administration point of view, and I herewith 
append such of the answers as are already not repetitions. Those that 
do not convey special information are omitted. 

Honorable H. B. Peairs, Supervisor of Schools, Washington, D.C., 
writes : — 

VI. "From extended observations during the past five years, I am 
confident that there has been very marked progress and that the general 
condition of the Indians is very much better than it was ten years ago. 
I had the opportunity of doing one full year's work in the field in 1897, 
during which time I traveled in all sections of the country and visited more 
than one-half of the reservations and schools. The past four years have 
given me an opportunity to visit practically all of the reservations and 
schools, and I unhesitatingly say that there is a marked improvement." 

VIII. "The mixed-blood. They are an English-speaking people, 
more intelligent and more capable in every way, considering the average 
mixed-blood. Their homes are far superior and they are more ambitious 
to improve conditions. The fact that they are unwilling to remain as they 
are in many instances results in their being somewhat troublesome, but 
this only emphasizes a desire for better conditions." 

XIII. "I believe the Government is making a conscientious effort 
to protect the Indian in all of his interests, both property and human. Un- 
doubtedly there are instances where, through bad legislation, weak ad- 
ministration, or both, great injustice has been done. There is great 
difference of opinion as to what is best to do in many instances for the 
Indians. What might be considered by some to be an injustice, might 
be considered by others as being the best possible thing for the Indian. 
For instance, some oppose very positively the taxation of Indian lands of 
any class. Personally, I believe that all productive inherited Indian lands 
should be taxed in order that funds might become available for the support 
of local institutions, such as public schools, and for the proper maintenance 
of public roads, bridges, etc. On the other hand, there are those who 
believe that there should be greater freedom in the matter of issuing patents 



OFFICIAL VIEWS 



379 



in fee for allotted lands and to the allottee. Personally, I believe that the 
original allottee should not be permitted to dispose of his allotment and 
thus be without a permanent home. In instances it might be well to 
permit the allottee to sell a portion of his allotment, the receipts therefrom 
to be used in improving the remaining portion. 

"I give these illustrations simply to show that differences of opinion 
with reference to what is best for the Indian and what is not best, may give 
color to the answer to the seventh question." 

Honorable John B. Brown, Supervisor of Education, Muskogee, 
Oklahoma, says:- — 

VII. "The morality of the Indians in the Five Civilized Tribes is 
believed to be as good as the average of their community, which is reason- 
ably high, except possibly in some full-blood communities where living 
conditions are not conducive to the best moral status." 

X. "The opinion on this subject is divided. I have made careful 
inquiry at every Agency visited, both within and adjoining the Five Civil- 
ized Tribes. I believe that more depends upon the home conditions and 
efficiency of Government employees on the reservation than any other one 
point except the individual peculiarities of the young Indian in question. 
Given the same quality of manhood in the Indian under consideration, and 
the same efficiency on the part of officials in charge of the reservation, I 
have not been able to detect any marked change in favor of either the 
reservation or non-reservation system of education." 

VIII. "My judgment is that under the more recent practices of our 
Department, the Indians are being as fully protected as it is practicable 
to do; that is, that every reasonable effort is honestly being put forth for 
such protection." 

Honorable O. H. Lipps (at the time Mr. Lipps wrote he was in charge 
of Coeur D'Alene, Flathead and other Indians in the northwest.) Briefly 
summed up, his opinion is to the effect that the full-bloods are in the best 
condition; that white people are taking advantage of the Flatheads, but 
not of other Indians in his region. Few white men marry full-blood Indian 
women, but white men marry mixed-bloods for their property. 

XIII. "I believe the Indian Department is doing all in its power to 
protect the Indians' property; more could be done to protect his health." 

Mrs. Elsie E. Newton is one of the Supervisors in charge of health of 
the Indians. She has served for many years in the Indian Office, and is 
one of the most competent employees. I quote at considerable length 
from her letter. 



380 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



VI. "I cannot answer this with precision as my knowledge of the 
Indian country, except in one or two localities, is less than ten years old. 

"It can be said, however, that even in five years there has been a 
great change in the environment of the Indian, with few exceptions. The 
Whites have settled pretty well in and around him and have diffused ideas 
which in time he is bound to adopt in more or less degree. I speak of matters 
of dress, food, shelter, etc. The superficial aspect of his life is changing. 
In like manner, his attitude toward law, morals, etc., are being modified. 
It appears that he is going through that period of transition, forgetting 
the old code of life, or at least not regarding it, and yet not dominated by 
the new. This transition period is always one of distinct loss both in moral 
force, and achievement. From this point of view, he is not as well off today 
as he was ten years ago, but until he has passed through the critical period, 
it is unfair to make comparison by years merely." 

VII. "Immorality is a relative term. Certain Indian tribes had 
moral codes under which they lived and lived acceptably, or morally. 
Those codes differed and the difference in them marks the diversity of the 
general condition of those tribes today. Thus we find the Crows deteriorat- 
ing while the Northern Cheyennes, living practically next door, are still 
good stock. The sexual morality of the former is low compared to that 
of the latter. 

"Few Indians practice monogamy after the Anglo-Saxon ideal — 
one partner only, and one partner for life. Divorces are common and 
frequent; even so, one finds few prostitutes among the best tribes, and 
promiscuity is not common. Even in the lower tribes where promiscuity 
is common, the prostitute is not. Such tribes have still the remnants of 
phallicism in their ceremonies. 

"The state of morals is not due so much to the presence of low Whites, 
generally speaking, as it is to the fact mentioned above, that the tribal 
authority has become loosened, their own social restraints have disap- 
peared, and there is no definite code, or its enforcement succeeding. The 
Federal law has never covered the ground on reservations where it retained 
jurisdiction and where the Indians are citizen allottees, the State does not 
exert itself to exercise control; local judicial machinery is reluctant to punish 
infractions of the law, partly because the community concerns itself very 
little with offences of the kind among Indians themselves, and partly 
because of the expense involved in prosecutions, in which Indians bear 
no share by taxation. 

"As regards that morality which is designated honesty, I hardly 
believe that the word of an Indian today is as good, man for man, as in the 



official Views 



381 



previous generation. Traders would be more competent to give testimony 
on this point, because in their business they have learned whom to trust 
and whom to suspect. 

IX. 'The white man is more likely than not to take advantage of 
an Indian where his own advantage is concerned. This is due as much to 
the innate pushing quality of the Whites, as the corresponding retiring 
quality of the Indian. It is frequently a racial rather than a moral matter. 
It is often a matter of mere competition between Whites. For instance, I once 
had a conversation with a bank official in an Indian country, where banks 
were discounting Indian notes at an impossible usurious rate. The man 
was highly respected in the community, well regarded for honesty, a 
church worker, and in my own opinion a good, typical American. We 
discussed the matter reasonably, and he concluded by saying, 4 1 suppose 
this sort of thing seems unpardonable to you,' and when I acquiesced, he 
continued, ' We look at it about this way, — if we do not get the Indian's 
money, some one else will.' The Indian makes no resistance to such treat- 
ment, partly through inability, partly through inambition. 

XIII. "In general, it is; in some instances it is too paternalistic; in 
others, it is sometimes crowded to an issue contrary to distinctly good Indian 
policy by interests which bear upon general public policy. In other 
words, the Indian interest must frequently be sacrificed for general and 
broader interest. 

"I might say that the Government is protecting the Indian, and 
protecting him well, but the public is not. If the public would be more 
just, the Government might exert less paternalism, with great advantage 
to the individual Indian. 

"It should be added that often the Indian stands in the attitude of 
finding Government protection irksome, just as a child often feels toward 
parental authority. As one Government official aptly said, 'It is hard to 
protect the Indian when he doesn't want to be protected'." 

Honorable Horace G. Wilson, Supervisor of Indians, Rosebud, Oregon, 
replies to the questions rather briefly. He believes that the general con- 
dition of the Indians is better than ten years ago; that the Indian is naturally 
immoral, but his wickedness increases through contact with low Whites; 
that the mixed-bloods are in the best condition; white people are taking 
advantage of the Indians; Indians should be educated near at home; white 
men are marrying Indian women to secure property. Finally, that the 
Government is protecting the Indians. 

Honorable Charles F. Peirce, Superintendent of the Flandreau school, 
South Dakota, says he has in charge a large number of pupils each year. 



382 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



He considers the condition more satisfactory than ten years ago; that the 
moral condition of Flandreau Indians compares favorably with that of 
white people in the surround'ng community under same conditions; that 
there is little drunkenness; that the observance of marriage relat'ons is as 
good as among white people; that most of the Indians are full-bloods; 
that the mixed-bloods are more industrious. 

"The Flandreau Indians have been citizens of the State o; South 
Dakota, voting and otherwise taking part in municipal affairs for twenty 
years, and while the Government is nominally holding jurisdiction over 




CLASS IN DOMESTIC ART. HASKELL INDIAN SCHOOL, KANSAS 



them, they need but very little protection, and that is being exercised by 
the Government as necessity demands." 

Honorable Frank A. Thackery is Superintendent of the Pima Indian 
School, Sacaton, Arizona. As to the prevalence of trachoma and tuber- 
culosis ten years ago as compared with the present, he cannot give much 
information. He admits that there is a high percentage of deaths from 
tuberculosis, and recommends inexpensive hospital camps. 

VI. "Speaking for the Pimas alone, the matter of their water rights 
is the principal factor to be considered in connection with their advance- 



OFFICIAL VIEWS 



383 



ment in the past ten years, as upon their right to the water of the Gila River 
rests their sole opportunity for industrial independence. The Pimas are 
victims of circumstances beyond their control in so far as the irrigation 
problem is concerned and the Indian Office is now taking very active steps 
to protect the rights of these Indians wherever the encroaching whites 
have jeopardized them. 

VII. "The Pima Indians have a high standard of morality for a 
primitive people, but I believe such deviations as occur are due to the 
Indian's own nature, which is, after all, human nature, and as liable 
to err as his white brother, whose example we will all agree leaves much 
to be desired if set up as the standard to which other races should 
aspire." 

IX. "Yes, in so far as appropriating river water to which the Pimas 
have a prior right. 

X. "Again speaking of the Pimas only, I believe the peculiar climatic 
conditions here make it desirable that the boys and girls shall receive 
their training in this locality. It is safe to say that 95% of the boys will 
be farmers, and such training as they receive along agricultural lines should 
correlate with their home conditions and this it is not likely to do if ob- 
tained in a locality where climatic conditions vary greatly from southern 
Arizona. 

XIII. "I believe the administration is taking every possible step to 
safeguard the interests of the Indians within the limits allowed by the laws 
governing and the funds at its disposal, hampered as it is by the political 
intriguers who now, as always, seek to control the management of Indian 
Affairs for their personal benefit and gain. Your true reformer is first and 
always an extremist; to him a thing is either black or white, good or evil, 
a crime or a virtue. He knows no gradation of color, no perception of pro- 
portions, no knowledge of values. To him the world is made up of entirely 
unrelated antitheses, and all acts of which he does not himself approve are 
evil. It is easy for such a person to contend that the Indians have been 
imposed upon by those entrusted with the management of their affairs 
and to find evidence to support their contentions. But the broad-minded 
investigator will recognize the peculiar racial problems with which those 
interested in the Indians' advancement have had to deal, will give due 
consideration to the enormity of the task set them, will weigh carefully 
the intricacy of the machinery with which the workers have been forced 
to labor and will hesitate to judge adversely where superficial observation 
would appear to warrant such a judgment justifiable." 



384 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



I regret that I could not produce these lengthy communications in 
full. But the quotations will give an idea of the Departmental point of 
view, and that the dangers are fully appreciated, and every effort made 
to overcome them. 

Past Commissioners' Views 

Honorable T. J. Morgan, appointed Indian Commissioner in June, 1889, 
might be said to have crystalized the policy having as its chief aim, the 
allotting, and the educating of Indians. He was followed by Honorable 
D. M. Browning, who served for four years. Honorable TV. A. Jones, 
appointed in May, 1897, served until December, 1904, when Mr. Leupp 
succeeded to the office. We may dismiss the careers of the Commissioners 
preceding Mr. Leupp, with a blanket statement that they did not foresee 
that a policy emphasizing allotting and educating, and minimizing pro- 
tection, would bring about disastrous results. Mr. Leupp's administration 
felt the full force of the evil effects of policies inaugurated by his prede- 
cessors. We have already discussed Mr. Leupp's views, and further com- 
ment is unnecessary. 

Coming down to Mr. Valentine's appointment, June, 1909, we find 
that Mr. Valentine recognized in the full sense the dangers confronting 
the Indian and strove to combat them. At the Lake Mohonk Conference, 
October, 1909, he delivered a splendid address entitled, "What the Public 
Should Know About the Indian Bureau." In this he admits that his in- 
spection service has been weak and that much of the trouble is due 
to incomplete, or faulty reports. I have commended elsewhere in this 
book Mr. Valentine's health propaganda — for it is largely due to his 
efforts that Congress became aroused to the necessity of increased 
appropriations. 

The acting Commissioner, Honorable F. H. Abbott, who served from 
September, 1912, to Mr. Sells' appointment in June, 1913, carried out the 
policies inaugurated by his former chief. Abbott opposed wholesale 
allotments hastily made, as in the past. He took a firm stand against 
the allotment schemes proposed for the Navaho Indians at the present 
time. 

Mr. Sells' policy has been referred to at length on previous pages of 
this book. He was fortunate in his selection of Honorable E. B. Meritt 
as Assistant Commissioner, who entered the Bureau in 1910 as chief law 
officer. It was due to Mr. Meritt 's efforts that the application of a railroad 
for the granting of a right of way for the construction of a line through 
the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Arizona, was prevented. His work on 



OFFICIAL VIEWS 



385 



behalf of the Yakima Indians, in protecting their water rights, was espe- 
cially effective. He has delivered a number of addresses at Lake Mohonk, 
setting forth the aims of the Department under the present administration, 
and cooperates with the Indian Rights Association in its excellent work. 

The inspection service is now under a new chief, Honorable E. B. 
Linnen. As a practical field-man of wide experience, he has selected a corps 
of competent men. Investigations are now carried on in a thorough manner, 
and incompetent persons removed, and not simply transferred, as in former 
times. 





Photographed by Rev. Julius 
Jette, S. J., in a cabin at 
Nulato, Alaska, 
April, 1913 



MOURNING THE DEAD 



CHAPTER XXXVI. RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

FROM FIELD WORKERS 

Of the many correspondents who aided in the preparation of the table 
of statistics, there were large numbers who made most excellent recom- 
mendations. I have selected some thirty of these and herewith present 
them in order that they may be preserved. The writers are all persons 
of experience in Indian affairs. It will be observed that in many details, 
they do not agree, and yet they suggest, for the most part, sensible reforms. 
Practically every one of the entire correspondents had no criticisms to 
offer of the intentions of the Government, or Indian Office officials. A 
few criticized local officials with whom they came in contact. The 
following recommendations are not offered in controversial spirit, nor as 
a reflection on our able men at Washington. They are presented as the 
result of years of experience on the part of unselfish men and women, whose 
only aim is to see the Indian saved out of his troubles; simple justice meted 
out to him, and that he should take his place in American life as a real 
citizen. 

"I never did in my private opinion approve of the allotment plan 
and never will. I am in favor of the old Roman style of civilizing; give 
the race or nation, for themselves, a large enough tract of land, facility 
for commercial opportunity, let them wrestle with their fate, pay a small 
tribute to the crown; if fit they will survive. 

"Time will show the merits and demerits of the allotment system. 
The condition of the reservations was much better before this plan was 
inaugurated. Those who have tried to civilize any race or nation within 
twenty-four hours, figuratively speaking, have invariably failed. All 
history will support this statement." 

Correspondent, Beaulieu, Minn. 

"I believe the Government made a serious mistake in allowing the 
Indians to sell their land. They could be much helped by the leasing of 
their lands, but when the lands are gone there is no further help." 

Correspondent, Greenwood, So. Dakota 

"They have better homes than they had ten years ago, have better 
clothing and more to eat. They have advanced too in farming. But their 
lands are going, dead claims are sold often before the Indian owner is buried. 



388 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Tlieir lands rent better now. bringing more money to them than they did 
ten years ago. 

"I think our Government is doing all it can do for the Indians' interest. 
And I think it has been for several years trying harder and harder each 
year to do its full duty by these people. The restrictions on their lands, 
their perfect system of schools, their vigilance to keep whiskey from them, 
their eagerness to protect them: all these things go to show that the heart 
of the Government has a soft spot for the Indian and it will be a sad day 
for the Indian when the Government turns him loose.*' 

Correspondent,. Hugo. Oklahoma 

''The Government should do more to secure justice for citizen Indians 
in the local courts. Conditions are very bad." 

Correspondent. Santee, Nebraska 

"Too much red tape." 

Correspondent. Odanah. Wisconsin 

"If the U. S. Government laws, protecting the Indians, could be only 
enforced, the Indians would be well protected." 

Correspondent. Beaulieu, Minn. 

" The best protection to the Indians would be the giving to each man 
the portion of goods and lands that belong to him as an individual., or to 
his family, and then for a very brief period exercise an elder brotherly 
control of his affairs, rather by way of suggestion. This is my opinion as 
to the Indians in this region at the present time." 

Correspondent, Rosebud, S. Dakota 

"'When I came here, over eighteen years ago, many lived on their 
farms, miles away from town, wore citizens' clothes, talked English, were 
industrious in a way. When they were allotted, they were allowed to have 
Indian villages and in consequence they left then farms, flocked together, 
returned to the blanket, Osage language, old customs, etc. In north- 
eastern Oklahoma, where they were allotted, they were forced to live on 
their allotments and became industrious. 

"In conclusion. I would say turn the Indians loose entirely, place 
them on a par with the Whites, as soon as possible, and that should be 
very soon." 

Correspondent, Pawhuska, Okla. 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



389 



"The Government is doing something in the way of intellectual and 
industrial training of the young, but fails to stir up an ambition to carry 
these things into life; the Government has established a hospital for the 
sick, and has several physicians who are paid for caring for the sick; yet 
disease and death are on the increase; the Government recognizes the 
Indians as wards, and says that no liquor shall be sold to them, yet will 
sell a license to a man that he may open a saloon on a reservation. The 
saloons may not sell liquor to Indians, yet drunken Indians are as common 
as dandelions on a lawn. I need not say more. The Government is too 
big; it is ineffective. The whole problem should be put into the hands 
of a Commission made up of men with hearts that are something more than 
pumping-stations, and who are experts in this matter. I say this without 
any criticism of individuals but of the system as a whole. We must get 
the Indian problem out of politics; we must give the Commission power 
to act within certain limits. 

"Had we had men of heart and of vision, what might not have been 
done for the Indians on the White Earth Reservation? A study of the 
Indian would have revealed him as a social creature; of choice he lived in 
a settlement surrounded by his friends. This would have suggested the 
gathering of Indians into villages rather than scattering them upon allot- 
ments of land without any knowledge of, or taste for farming. In these 
villages might have been built houses on one-acre tracts for 150 families, 
and there might have been provided a school, hospital, store, etc. The 
school would be a day-school, and the children left in the homes of their 
parents. Two field matrons could visit every home at least once each 
week, and from time to time gather the women for instructions in care of 
the home, care of children, etc. The physician could easily look after 
the sick." 

Correspondent, Cass Lake, Minnesota 

"In the town of Yerington, Nevada, having a white population of 682 
(last census) , there are at least fifteen places where liquor is sold. Yering- 
ton is situated in Mason's valley about twenty-five miles from the reserva- 
tion, and is surrounded by a farming section and in the outlying hills are 
many mining prospectors and a few mines in operation. Occasionally a 
stranded prospector drifts into the town, and readily learns that the easiest 
way to get another 'grubstake' is to bootleg whiskey to Indians, and so 
there is considerable of this work done. Also, in the town of Yerington 
are many places where 'yen-chee' is sold, and a good per cent, of these 
Indians are opium users. 



390 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



"Since the Agent took charge of the agency in June he has made some 
regulations restricting the Indians from leaving their land (allotments) 
at any and all seasons, by requiring each Indian to get a pass from the 
office before leaving the reservation, and this regulation has cut down the 
revenue of some of these towns, so much so that an attorney of low caliber 
and an ex-judge made and circulated a petition among both Indians and 
Whites, requesting an investigation of the Agent's disciplining the Indians 
be made, which was supplemented by a request that he be removed. Their 
charges were heard by an officer at Yerington and the testimony submitted 
in a way that was more amusing than many theatrical comedies; one of 
the witnesses even turned to the attorney and asked what it was he told 
him to say! The smell of whiskey on the attorney and some of the wit- 
nesses was very noticeable. 

"The so-called Medicine Men are, I think, the greatest hindrance 
among the tribal evils that the Paiute Indians have to conquer; when they 
are 'doctoring' a sick person and are convinced that the patient is going 
to die, they accuse some progressive Indian of being a 'witch' and claim 
the sickness is due to a spell cast over them by the 'witch'. 

"I think it would be better if the Indian children were not forced to 
go to school at such a very early age (five to six years). The change from 
a free life at home to a strict routine school life is hard, especially at such a 
tender age. I do not doubt that in a number of cases it weakens the con- 
stitution and makes them far more susceptible to tuberculosis. 

"I also am convinced it would be far more to the benefit of the Indians 
if a great percentage of the money which is yearly spent in large non- 
reservation schools, would be used on the reservation in order to develop 
more water and to improve more land, so that every Indian could get 
enough agricultural land, so as to make it possible for him to make a living 
on his farm. A part of said money could even be spent to assist him in 
fencing his land, procuring farm implements and the like. With such a 
start and well-meaning officers, who, when necessary, even would strictly 
insist that all cultivate their lands properly, most of the Indians would, 
within a few years, become self-supporting and also support their children. 
These children, as they grow up, in turn should be made to assist their 
parents in their home duties. 

"Reservation day-schools, as a rule, should suffice also for the Indian 
children. In these they could surely receive such an education as is neces- 
sary for an honest and happy living. Most of the white children in country 
districts have no better opportunity. 

Correspondent, Phoenix, Arizona 

{Formerly lived at Yerington, Nev.) 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



391 



"Competent Indians should be given control of their business; full- 
bloods or near full-bloods educated by the retention of coal royalties, or 
schools maintained by direct Congressional action. Oklahoma needs 
schools for Indians more than it needs Federal buildings or battleships." 

Correspondent, Muskogee, Oklahoma 

"The general tendency of the Government to take away the safe- 
guards over the Indians' property and person, while of course in line with 
the generally agreed plan for ultimate citizenship is proving very destruc- 
tive at the present stage of advancement. It is the general rule that Indians 
given patents in fee sell their holdings and waste the proceeds either in 
riotous living or foolish investments or manipulations of their affairs. 
Such procedure cripples the coming generation more than the present 
one. 

"The Government is further at a disadvantage in having to educate 
a politician about every three years to take charge of the Indian Bureau. 
An experienced field man should always be in this position. 

"The attempt to put Indians in public schools while finally desirable 
and necessary is at present a failure in most places and should be pushed 
with the greatest care, meantime supporting Indian schools until such 
time as the Indian is in shape to attend public schools of a type better 
than we have now. 

"The theory of administration is sound if it were followed up by ex- 
perienced men, who were content to follow a policy already promulgated 
instead of hunting for new ideas to be called their own." 

Correspondent, Sisseton, South Dakota 

"Continually giving things gratis does not make them appre- 
ciate what is being done for them, but rather makes them inert and destroys 
all ambition. It looks rather strange to see yearly thousands of dollars 
spent in educating these poor children of the desert in distant and mag- 
nificent schools. Thousands of well-to-do white parents could not even 
think of giving their children such a change. 

"Sooner or later the taxpayers of the United States will object to 
having their hard-earned money thus spent. And, if by that time the 
Indians have not learned to help themselves, depend on themselves, and 
make a living for themselves, and support their children, then their future, 
will be hopeless." 

Correspondent, Phoenix, Arizona 



392 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



"The building of homes would suggest the necessity for material 
which the forests would furnish in abundance. Study of the men would 
suggest the necessity of regular employment as a proper discipline leading 
to civilization. Mills should have been established and the men set to 
work turning the forests into lumber as fast as it was needed for lumber, 
and a sufficient over-plus to pay the men for their work, and all other 
expense of operation. 

"The warming of the homes and other buildings would suggest the 
necessity of fuel; the barbaric improvidence of the Indian would be over- 
come by setting a time when every able-bodied man must go to the woods 
and gather a year's supply of fuel for his home, as well as for all the public 
institutions. 

"The need of clothing, blankets, etc., and the peculiar abilities of the 
Indian women as evidenced in their beadwork, rush mats, and grass baskets, 
together with the wide acres of grazing lands, would suggest the raising 
of sheep and the establishment of mills for the manufacture of woolens. 

"The need of foods would suggest the establishment of one or more 
large farms, where, under proper supervision, men would learn to till the 
soil, care for stock, handle machinery, etc. 

"The Indian does not need charity, but he must be trained to use the 
powers he possesses. I would do away with all annuities and substitute 
work and wages therefor. I would not make personal allotments of land 
except to Indians who had learned to farm, and then only on the home- 
stead plan requiring them to live on the land and make certain improve- 
ments before they secured title. Except for supervisors and experts, I 
would have all the work on the reservation done by Indians, nor would I 
permit a white man to hold title to an acre of land." 

Correspondent, Cass Lake, Minnesota 

"There is for instance the question of honesty and justice. Fifteen 
years ago the majority of the Osages were honest, truthful, just, paid 
their debts. The IT. S. Government told them: you can deal with licensed 
traders and must pay them; dealers that are not licensed you must not 
pay. They trade with both kinds for convenience sake and otherwise; 
after a while when money is short, they refuse to pay the unlicensed dealer, 
and become dishonest and unjust. 

"Of the Osages, nineteen years ago, all the full-bloods were poor, 
and very glad to get a piece of beef when sick. The first year after allot- 
ment they let the renter bring them their share of the grain, but the second 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



393 



year they went after their share themselves and improved their opportunity 
so that some Osages loaned money to others not only this year but ten 
years ago. The money is the greatest misfortune to the Osages and I say 
often it is a curse to them. They have a large trust fund in Washington 
and an apparently unlimited supply of oil and gas and also other minerals " 

Correspondent, Pawhuska, Oklahoma 




CREEK MAN AND WOMAN CUTTING WOOD. SYLVIAN, OKLAHOMA, 1913 



"In some ways the Indians are improving but not so surely and 
rapidly as ten years ago. The encouraging of the old native dances which 
is simply heathen worship; the enacting of war scenes to please the Whites, 
is fast putting him back of what he was ten years ago. The full-blood 
Indians are the most law-abiding in most cases. The white people always 
take advantage of the Indian. The Government is not properly protecting 
the Indian. Largely the local politicians run reservation affairs." 

Correspondent, Standing Rock, No. Dakota 



394 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



"I think more could be done here in the way of nursing. There is 
no trained nurse among these Indians, no field matron. The people are 
ignorant in the matter of knowing how to care for young children, and in 
matters of cleanliness and ventilation." 

Correspondent, Greenwood, So. Dakota 

"Government farmers who farm, and a doctor — I will not say more 
capable — but one who takes an interest in his work and his people, and 
who at least visits the sick, are among the needs of these people." 

Correspondent, Pala, California 

"The Indian courts are incompetent and unjust. The boarding- 
schools should be nonsectarian. There should be more day-schools to pro- 
mote the home life. If the Indians are wards, they should be protected 
in the courts. For instance, two years ago a young girl whose father had 
just left her a nice property, was sued for breach of promise by a mixed- 
blood. Ignorant, she did not appear in court. She was not defended by 
the Indian Agent. Many of her fine horses were sold at low prices and 
the mixed-blood rece'ved $1,000. This case was reviewed by the Depart- 
ment of Justice in Washington but never righted. They recognized evi- 
dences of fraud, but the time limit had elapsed. There should be a good 
lawyer as legal clerk at each agency. There should be much smaller dis- 
tricts, and more and better farmers in charge of them, who would by 
example encourage the Indians to farm their land, milk cows and raise 
stock. Notwithstanding the large issues of stock, the Indians have few 
more cattle and horses than twenty-seven years ago when I first came 
out here. With a railway station within ten miles of nearly every Indian 
on this reservation, very little is raised to ship out, either stock or grain." 

Correspondent, McLaughlin, So. Dakota 

"The Indians, largely, are holding their lands. Immorality is due 
to several causes; first and greatest I blame the Government for insisting 
upon Indians obtaining licenses to marry. Many of them are a hundred 
miles from the agency. The old custom of early marriages was best for 
them. But now unless they are past eighteen years of age they cannot get 
a license. Any authorized minister should be allowed to marry them 
without a license. The boys and girls are kept in school too long. If 
forced at all to be sent to school after they are sixteen, it should be optional 
with the students and parents. 

Correspondent, Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



395 



"A commission of ten or twelve men announce that they will be here 
on a certain date to make payments to certain Indians. These Indians 
are notified to come. They travel, some of them, 100 miles. On arriving 
there they find, perhaps, that they have come too soon or too late. This 
means a wait of several days at heavy expense. I have known instances 
where the amount drawn was less than the expenses. We have wondered 
why the Indian could not receive his payment just as the old soldier gets 
his pension, but it is claimed that he would not get the check — so many 
would be on the watch for it. 

"When it is announced that the payment party is to be at a certain 
place, this proclaims to every grafter in the land that he had better be 
there. He is there. 

"I have known the whiskey Indians use to contain poison. The full- 
blood Indian leaves t^he payment party with little money. This may be 
a rather broad statement, but I think I can prove it. The country is full 
of people, supposedly the Indian's friends. If I wanted to find one this 
afternoon, I would at once go to the grafter's office, and there be sure to 
locate him." 

Correspondent, Durant, Oklahoma 

"Within this jurisdiction the Indians have leased the railroad sections 
of five townships to retain control of a portion of the range they need, 
but the Whites have leased many more townships and some of them are 
trying to keep the Indians out of the townships leased, or to confine them 
to their allotments. Such conditions are unbearable; allotments are valu- 
able mainly as a foothold to control the surrounding range. One hundred 
and sixty acres in that part of the country will support no more than about 
ten sheep. Recently a man from Chama leased all the Santa Fe railroad 
lands in San Juan country, excepting a half -township which a Navaho 
had leased, and brought in about 30,000 head of sheep. 

"Why should a dozen stockmen and politicians have control of the 
range to the detriment and ultimate destruction of the 2,200 Navahos in 
that part of the country? 

"Again: Why should a dozen sheepmen be permitted to supplant a 
hundred or thousand Navahos supported through the sheep industry? 

"Those who are educated at a distance and return — and they all 
return sooner or later — are dissatisfied. With a few exceptions they are 
adverse to taking up stock-raising and farming in earnest; they clamor for 
positions in Indian trading stores and for Government positions, which 



i 



396 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 

are too few to 'go around.' If the main school of the tribe, the one at Fort 
Defiance, were well equipped as a trade school, much good would accrue 
to the tribe; in fact, I consider this a prime necessity for the advancement 
of the tribe." 

Correspondent, St. Michaels, Arizona 




ALASKAN INDIAN CHILDREN; NIILATO, ALASKA 
Two have trachoma, four are normal. Photographed, 1914 



"Years ago the Indian chief and headmen kept strict order among the 
people, punished the guilty by fines or imprisonment, kept all Indian 
doctors from the place and fined them as much as fifty dollars if caught 
on the reservation. After a while the Government abolished the ruling of 
the chief and headmen by appointing paid Indian judges. If the guilty 
were fined they hardly ever paid their fines, if put in jail they managed by 
some way or other to escape, and many years ago the jail was destroyed 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



397 



by fire and no attempt has ever been made by the Agent to rebuild it. 
For the last year or two the judges have been dismissed so that now there 
seems to be no more law or authority on the reservation. 

"In conclusion, in this my 80th year of age, I hope never to see the 
day when the Indian reservation will be thrown open to white settlers. 
Such a step would be a sure extermination of the Indians, who would soon 
be tricked out of their little holdings by bad Whites and sent to die on the 
beach of Puget Sound. The Indian race is doomed to disappear. Let us 
at least allow them to die a natural death and give them a decent funeral." 

Correspondent, Bellingham, Washington 

"The Indians' land is without water and worthless. Whites have 
taken all the water. The law is such the Indians can not hunt. Many of 
them suffer for food." 

Correspondent, Likely, California 

"The Government should stop paying the Chippewa money, now 
and then. Give them all that belongs to them — allotments, houses, and 
no money. The more they get, the less they exert themselves. They 
are lazier today than twenty years ago." 

Correspondent, Cloquet, Minnesota 

"With respect to the full-blood Indian here, it is to be said to his 
great credit that he has no desire to receive a patent in fee to his land, 
and the full-bloods are holding on to their original allotments, and inherited 
land, with a spirit which is truly commendable. Little land is offered for 
sale belonging to the full-blood, and there is a well-fixed determination 
among the full-bloods to hold on to their land. As the land here is so valu- 
able and as they know they can receive a good figure if the land is sold, 
and knowing too of the great pressure brought to bear upon an Indian by 
white men who desire to purchase their land, I say again that the Indian 
full-blood here is to be congratulated upon his determination that he will 
not sell the land which the Government has allotted to him and his family." 

Correspondent, Pendleton, Oregon 



B A Y-B AH-D WUN-G A Y- AUSH, AGE 87 
Photographed in 1914 

This old blind medicine man was possessed of a remarkable memory and knew the family 
history of some hundreds of Ojibwa. He was the chief witness for the Government 
in establishing blood relationship (See pages 95 and 399) 



CHAPTER XXXVII. THE COMMUNISTIC LIFE. INDIAN MEN 
AND WOMEN OF PROMINENCE. MORALITY 



There was much of the old Indian life, beyond the Mississippi, in the 
years preceding 1880, that was picturesque if not beautiful. Contrary to 
popular belief, the Indians were not continually at war. Certain organi- 
zations of young men among some bands did make warfare their chief aim 
of life until reaching middle age. But the average Indian at home was 
just as different from the Indian on the warpath, as are our troops inaction, 
the opposite of the same men as citizens. Entirely too much emphasis 
has been placed upon the Indian as a warrior. 

The communistic life was in vogue in many places west of the Missis- 
sippi between 1850 and 1878. The communistic sentiment, evinced in 
nearly every village and clan-group, was so different from our life to- 
day, that I find myself compelled to illustrate it through the following 
incident. 

The old blind medicine man of the Otter-tail Pillagers, Bay-bah- 
dwun-gay-aush, was found by me helpless, living in a wretched shack on 
the edge of a swamp at Pine Point, Minnesota. He had been swindled 
out of his property. Commissioner Valentine, on my recommendation, 
kindly issued orders that old Bay-bah-dwun-gay-aush and his friend, the 
aged May-cud-day-wub, be rationed every Wednesday as long as they 
lived. Out of gratitude, the old man gave me the original birch-bark roll 
of the Mid-di-we-win, or Grand Medicine Society. He was the roll-keeper. 
In 1909, when received, the roll was 102 years old. It contains five degrees, 
which have been translated, but the old shaman requested that publication 
be deferred until his death. I desire to present in abridged form the 
fourth, or the Beaver degree, illustrating that phase of Indian character 
to which I have referred. In a general way, the sentiment is expressed as 
follows : — 

The beavers live together in harmony. They occupy one village. 
They do not take advantage of each other as do white people. They share 
everything in common. They strike the water at night, and thus signal 
to each other when danger is near. Their storehouses of food are open to 
all. They help each other, build the dams together, care for the young 
and support the old. Thus we Ojibwa should live as do the beavers and 
as did our grandfathers, who learned this from the beaver clan. 



400 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The contrast between this beautiful sentiment and that obtaining in 
most Indian communities today is very marked. With the passing away 
of the communistic life, and the adoption of the more selfish point of view 
of the white man, Indian character was not greatly improved. 

The begging dance, quite common two or three generations ago, sur- 
vives here and there in spite of efforts of the Government and the mission- 
aries to extinguish it. This same begging, or gift dance, has been per- 
sistently misunderstood. Originally, a Sioux, Pawnee, Cheyenne, or other 
Indian, who assembled his friends together and distributed in addition to 
food, even his blankets and ponies, became a famous man. He had done 
a good thing. His act was prompted by generosity, and a love of his fellow- 
man. The Agent and missionary, however, told him that one should not 
give gifts, but on the contrary he must accumulate and hoard. All of this 
was very confusing to the Indians of the transition period. The older 
Indians {page 324) cannot refuse their friends food, and such* as still con- 
tinue in the faith of their fathers feed those less fortunate than themselves, 
although by so doing they deprive themselves of food. 

The absolute change from these communistic ideas, from the general 
brotherhood of the red man, to the more practical (if not sordid) views of 
the white man, had a curious effect on many of the Indians. The sharper 
Indians soon observed that among the white people there were rich and 
poor. The missionary, unselfishly laboring to uplift the aborigines, was 
very poor in this world's goods. Yet he was self-sustaining and endeavored 
to persuade the Indians to become so. Both the Government teacher 
and the missionary impressed upon the aborigine ideas of thrift. Soon 
after allotments were issued, and the Indians received same, appeared 
other white men — bankers, real estate men and merchants. All of these 
secured Indian land or timber, and thus became well-to-do or rich. A 
certain class of half-educated Indians shrewdly observing that although 
the missionary pleaded, and the Agent and lawyer of the Great Father 
talked and blustered much, one hard, cold fact stood out indisputably: 
the missionary waxed poor, the Indian poorer, but the man in the frontier 
town waxed rich. It was incomprehensible to the old Indian, who clung 
to communistic ideals, but perfectly clear to the educated Indian. The 
latter realized that certain white men did not practice what the good 
missionary preached. To such, the word theft sounded very much the 
same as thrift. So the Indian — in many cases — drifted into evil ways, 
and like the white man of the frontier town, he scorned the old communistic 
life of his father, and to his ear there appeared practically no difference 
between the two words I have mentioned: thrift and theft. 



THE COMMUNISTIC LIFE 



401 



Indian Men and Women 
Of those representing the olden days, there were a large number who 
achieved more or less prominence. I am very sorry that space forbids a 
consideration of their careers in this book. I present a partial list of their 
names, and if readers will consult the Handbook of American Indians, short 
biographical sketches of most of these will be found. The negro has pro- 
duced far fewer great men than the Indian, yet the negro has always vastly 
outnumbered the former. During forty years there has been practically 
no discrimination against the black man save in the South. His educa- 
tional advantages in the North have been many, and his opportunities 
multitudinous. Slavery retarded him in a sense, yet slavery taught him 
enforced industry — which the Indian has never had. We would therefore, 
expect a larger proportion of prominent negro men and women. 

Omitting those previously mentioned in this book, we have : American 
Horse, Oglala Sioux; Big Mouth, Brule Sioux; Black Beaver, Delaware; 
Black Kettle, Cheyenne; Bloody Knife, Arikara; Chas. Curtis, Kaw; Chas. 
D. Carter, Chickasaw; George Copway, Chippewa; Francisco, Yuma; 
Gall, Sioux; John Grass, Sioux; Hollow-horn Bear, Brule Sioux; Peter 
Jones, Missisauga; Kanakuk, Kickapoo; Kamaiakan, Yakima; Keokuk, 
Sauk; Kicking Bird, Kiowa; Kintpuash (Capt. Jack), Modoc; Leschi, 
Nisqualli; Little Crow, Sioux; Little Raven, Arapaho; Little Thunder, 
Brule Sioux; Little Wound, Sioux; Lone Wolf, Kiowa; Mahtoiowa (Whirl- 
ing Bear), Brule Sioux; Many Horses, Piegan ; Joel B.Mayes, Cherokee ;Na- 
gonub, Chippewa; Nakaidoklini, Apache; Namequa, Sauk; Nana, Apache; 
Napeshneeduta, Sioux; Nawah, Apache; Albert Negahnquet, Potawatomie; 
Ojibwa, Ojibwa; Oronhyatekha, Mohawk; John Otherday, Sioux; Ouray, 
Ute; Eli Samuel Parker, Seneca; Quana Parker, Comanche; Peter Perkins 
Pitchlynn, Choctaw; Pizhiki (Buffalo), Chippewa; Simon Pokagon, Pota- 
watomi; Pleasant Porter, Creek; Alexander Lawrence Posey, Creek; John 
W. Quinney, Stockb ridge; Rain-in-the-Face, Sioux; Red Horn, Piegan; 
Red Iron Band, Sioux; Gabriel Renville, Sioux; Roman Nose, Cheyenne; 
John Ross, Cherokee; Sassaba, Chippewa; Satanta, Kiowa; Scarf ace Charlie, 
Modoc; Schonchin, Modoc; John Sunday, Chippewa; Souligny, Menominee; 
Standing Bear, Ponca; Tamaha, Sioux; Tendoy, Bannock; Solimon Two- 
stars, Sioux; Wabanaquot (White Cloud), Chippewa; James D. Wafford, 
Cherokee; Wamditanka (Great War Eagle), Sioux; Wapasha, Sioux; 
Washakie, Shoshoni; Eleazar Williams, Iroquois; Winema (Woman Chief), 
Modoc; Wopohwats, Cheyenne; Allen Wright, Choctaw; Yellow Thunder, 
Winnebago. 



402 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



Doctor Charles A. Eastman — than whom there is no more competent 
judge of the Plains Indians of 1850-1890 — has informed me that next to 
Red Cloud and Sitting Bull, he considers Spotted Tail and Crazy Horse 
(Sioux) two of the greatest Indians of modern times. 

In addition to the Indians, both educated and not, whose names have 
been presented in this Indian History, there occur two who were particu- 
larly prominent in helping their own people. 

Bright Eyes (Susette La Flesche) was born in Nebraska about 1850. 
She was educated at a mission school on the Omaha reservation, and later 
at a private school in Elizabeth, N. J. In 1877-78 the Ponca were forcibly 
removed to Indian Territory from their home on Niobrara reservation, 
South Dakota. In order to bring Indian removals before the public, 
Standing Bear, accompanied by Susette La Flesche and her brother, visited 
the principal cities of the L T nited States, where her appeals for humanity 
toward her race aroused the interest of thousands. As a result, a request 
was urged on the Government that there be no more removals of tribes, 
and this request has been respected, when practicable. She was very 
active with her pen until her death in 1902. She was considered one of 
the brightest Indian women of modern times. 

Sarah Winnemucca, a Paiute, was born in Nevada in 1844. She 
became interpreter to Government officials, and served General O. O. 
Howard as scout in the Bannock War of 1877, when no Indian man would 
penetrate the country occupied by the hostiles. She lectured in the East 
in the eighties, and wrote a book on the Piaute's wrongs. She died in 1891, 
after a remarkable career. 

A score of others might be included as worthy of a place in an Indian 
biography. 

Mr. Leupp in his book stated that people were continually asking him 
this question: "Will the Indians produce a Booker T. Washington?" 

It is quite possible for the Indians to produce a national character. 
There is a splendid work to be done by such a person. For more than a 
century we have labored in educating Indians, yet we have not produced 
a single great man or woman. Do not misunderstand me. I mean a truly 
great Indian, one of the stamp of Tecumseh, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud, 
Sacagawea, or Sequoya. The latter was trained and educated fifty years 
before we devoted any attention to Indian progress, and his alphabet, 
his attainments, and his reputation are due to his own efforts rather than 
to us. What woman have we of the fame of Sacagawea, the poor Shoshoni, 
who guided Lewis and Clark to the Pacific ocean? Not one. Excepting 
Clara Barton, the noble Civil War nurse, and a few other American women, 



THE COMMUNISTIC LIFE 



403 



we have no person, even among white women, who underwent such dan- 
gers and privations, or stood forth more clearly as a brave and heroic 
character than this same Sacagawea. We have produced a great many 
noble Indians, men and women, prominent, but not to be considered truly 
great. 

One may not misrepresent, if one claims that the Indian great men 
and women are of the past. There will not arise a Booker Washington, 
unless some strong, able Indian champions the cause of his people in the 
large sense. There are a number of young, bright Indians, chief among 
whom is Mr. Henry Roe-Cloud, and one or two others. But most of the 
educated Indians are concerned with other than Indian matters. None of 
them may be said to have entered the public arena as a dominant figure. 
If an educated Indian should give up his entire time to working for his 
people, as Doctor Grenfell works for the fishermen of Labrador, he would 
become famous. It has always been a surprise to me that the educated 
Indians have not seen this opportunity and availed themselves of it. Hun- 
dreds of the educated Indians are teachers, ministers, or Government 
employees. All of them are, as everybody knows, upright and able. But 
there is a vast difference between a position held by these excellent gentle- 
men, and a position that might be held by one of their own in standing as 
a true sponser for the Red Race in America, and in an intelligent and force- 
ful manner presenting the needs and aims of his race. Such a man should 
present an uncompromising front against graft and incompetency. A 
mediocre man could not attain to this position, but given the opportunity, 
there is no reason under the sun why some educated Indian should not go 
down into history as a truly great man. 

It is quite incomprehensible that so many of our educated Indians 
are timid. All of them realize the dreadful situation of many of their 
brothers in the West. A few have referred, in a more or less guarded 
fashion, to the wrongs of Indians. Dr. Eastman is especially frank upon 
this subject — as is Dr. Montezuma. Admitting so much, it remains to be 
said that not one has come before the American public as a stern, able, 
uncompromising fighter for the rights of his race. 

The Indians need a national character. The moment that an Indian 
of exceptional ability, presence and strength appears on the platform, and 
through the press, becomes the champion of his race, the American people 
will rally to his support. But if such an Indian is chiefly concerned in 
furthering the interests of some society, or missionary organization, or of 
a single tribe of Indians; and if he presents mere denunciations and does 
not suggest proper remedies, he will achieve no great success. 



404 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



The Society of American Indians is doing a good work, but in my 
humble opinion, it might accomplish far greater results if in addition to 
its advocacy of new laws, the division of Indian money, etc., its powerful 
organization began a fight through the medium of some selected champion, 
for the full protection of Indian rights and an effective, and not a paper 
citizenship. 




LARGE INDIAN HOUSE, FORT BERTHOLD RESERVATION. FAMILY OF SIX 



Indian Morality 

On page 380, Mrs. Elsie E. Newton stated that morality was a relative 
term, or depended on one's point of view. This is entirely true. The 
oldtime Indians were not immoral, although some of them were unmoral. 
Immorality came with the white man. There was an abundance of cruelty 
among Indians, and I have alluded to it elsewhere. Many Indians would 
not do things which we consider proper, or at least do not forbid in our 
moral code. As against this, some Indian customs are considered by us 
to be immoral. Drinking, while practiced in Mexico and among Apaches, 
and in some Southwest tribes, was practically unknown throughout the rest 
of the United States prior to the landing of our respected ancestors on the 
shores of Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts. The black drink of 
the Creeks was ceremonial, and not indulged in as an intoxicant. I have 
referred elsewhere to plural marriages. These do not seem to have been 



THE COMMUNISTIC LIFE 



405 



considered by the Indians any more immoral than they were by the patri- 
archs of the Old Testament. Indians usually supported their wives, even 
after separation. The modern method of easy divorce, followed by the 
usual suit for alimony, is reserved to polite white society. I once heard a 
worthy gentleman lamenting plural marriages among the Navaho. An 
educated Indian happened to be present, and he mentioned the names 
of two prominent white persons (to be found in Who's Who in America). 
Both occupy high positions, and one has had six wives and the other five 
husbands. The educated Indian ventured to remark to the worthy "up- 
lifter" that a careful search of the Navaho reservation would fail to produce 
(even among the so-called pagans) two polygamists equal to these repre- 
sentatives of the white man's civilization! 

I have never seen a really immoral dance among Indians. I have 
heard many addresses at various public gatherings in which the immorality 
of the Indians during these dances was denounced. Although witnessing 
thirty or forty dances on different reservations, all the performers I observed 
were properly dressed. Even in the Sioux Omaha dance, the men wore 
quite as much as do college students during a track meet. In the squaw 
dance, in which both sexes take part, the partners do not even hold each 
other. Yet, a minister once denounced me for taking part in so innocent 
a pastime. The very next evening the white employees on that reservation 
gave a dance, all of us attended, and I had the pleasure of dancing with 
the reverend gentleman's daughter. He saw nothing wrong in the waltz 
or two-step in which partners hold each other — and there is no harm in 
such dances. Yet he objected to the squaw dance in which the participants 
scarcely look at their partners. I mention this merely to indicate how 
inconsistent many people are with reference to Indian dances. I am 
informed that some of the educated Indians now take part in the maxixe 
and the fox-trot. If the reverend gentleman, to whom I have referred, 
was scandalized in observing a squaw-dance, what must be his feelings 
when he observes educated young men and women lapsing into the paganism 
of Paris and New York ! 

The Government's taboo of the begging dance, and the curtailment 
of the ordinary Indian dances, leave no amusements in which the older 
Indians may participate. Consequently, they are quite likely to gamble 
and engage in far more harmful pastimes. Ordinary dances should be 
permitted, and the gift dance regulated. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. TWO STORIES. UNWISE PURCHASES 



Some one should write a book devoted to stories of Indian heroism, 
the fulfilment of promises and kindred subjects. There is much material 
of this character available on many of our reservations. I do not mean 
folk-lore, or traditions, but stories of actual happenings, most of which are 
quite unknown to the average white citizen. 

During the White Earth investigation in Minnesota, I frequently 
joined a group of Indians and through interpreters, Mr. John Lufkins, 
or Mrs. Rose Ellis, persuaded the old men and women to relate some of 
their experiences. The first story, that of Ojibwa, was told by a man 
bearing the same name as the tribe. He was a famous warrior, noted for 
his bravery in action against the Sioux. His friend, No-de-na-qua-um (the 
Temperance Chief), also a famous warrior, had been shot through the right 
lung, and proudly exhibited to us the scars in his chest and back. 

The story of Ojibwa is presented as taken down at the time, without 
explanations or additions, being a literal translation. 

Ojibwa's Story 

"When I was young, long ago, there were three Sioux who went into 
a home and assaulted a white woman, near Fort Snelling. The white 
woman screamed, and her husband ran up, took one of the three guns 
left outside the door by the Indians, shot one of the Indians, and the other 
two killed the white man. During this summer the soldiers tried to get 
the two Sioux who did this and could not find them. 

"About a year afterwards, while at war, I killed a Sioux myself, and 
about the middle of the winter when we were camping at Little Rock Lake 
we heard that the soldiers were coming. The soldiers came and sent for 
Hole-in-the-Day, who was head chief. After he had been with them a little 
while the soldiers sent for me. I went over and found them eating 
dinner. As soon as I was there, they told me to eat, which I did. The 
Captain sat near me. The Captain said, 'Did you kill the Sioux?' and I 
replied, 'I am the man.' Then he asked me how I killed him, and I said I 
used my gun. 

" He said, ' What did you put in your gun? ' I told him, ' I put in powder 
and bullet. Then I shot him and scalped him.' 

"Then the Captain said, 'I am sent to come after you.' I said, 'I will 
go along with you.' He said, 'Have you made up your mind fully to go 
along with me? ' I again said, 'Yes.' 



408 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



"Hole-in-the-Day then stood up and said, 'You cannot take him until 
I give my consent. I will bring him myself after the ice goes out.' 

"The Captain said, 'You are a chief and you can bring him down when 
convenient.' The Captain shook hands with me and said to Hole-in-the- 
Day, 'Bring your son down to the fort in the spring.' Hole-in-the-Day 
told our hunters not to go out but to go to Fort Snelling, and about forty 
of us went down there in canoes. When we got near there, we sent a letter 
by the interpreter saying we would arrive about noon the next day. When 
we arrived at the landing a soldier tried to shove our canoes back. Hole- 
in-the-Day jumped out and kept the soldier from hurting us and sent word 
to the General that we were there. Then some officers came down and 
Hole-in-the-Day tore all my clothes off, leaving me naked. Hole-in-the- 
Day made himself naked and painted himself red. We walked up the hill 
together, the Ojibwa back of us. We were led to the flagpole. The General 
came out and shook hands with us. Hole-in-the-Day said to the General, 
'I am here. I am Hole-in-the-Day. I promised you I would be here at 
this time and bring my son. I am giving my son to you. If you want to 
hang him, hang him; if you wish to punish him, do so; if you care to place 
him in the guardhouse, put him there. I give him to you.' 

"I did not speak. 

" 'Just a minute, Hole-in-the-Day,' said the General. 'I'll wait until 
the Sioux arrive and you tell me then the same words in their presence.' 
Then the Sioux came. The General was in the center and 400 Sioux back 
of him, with head men scattered in front. Then the General said,' Hole- 
in-the-Day, speak.' And my chief repeated the same words he had said 
before. Then the General spoke to the Sioux: 'Hole-in-the-Day is head 
chief here today and he has given me his son to punish as I see fit and I 
shall do so accordingly.' 

"After the General said this, the Sioux head man said, 'Turn this man 
over to us and we will punish him as we see fit.' The General said, 'No; 
he was given me to be punished.' 

"Then the soldiers came up and put handcuffs on me while all the 
Indians looked on. The soldiers took me to the guardhouse and put me 
inside. They let me look through a small window and see what was going 
on. 

"The Sioux would speak and then Hole-in-the-Day would answer, 
and they kept at it all day long. About evening I saw the soldiers with 
two Sioux on whom they had fastened balls and chains, and they led them to 
the guardhouse. The guards unlocked my door and brought me down to 
where the two Sioux were. We were put in the same room and guarded 



TWO STORIES 



409 



there. Then the guard took me back upstairs. Then I saw the Sioux 
march out of the fort and the Ojibwa stayed. 

"After the Sioux were out of sight my guard came, unlocked my door, 
took off the handcuffs and hung them on the wall and brought me out. 
He took me to the General and when I got there the General was laughing 
and held out his arm and shook hands with me. 

"The General patted me on the shoulder and said, 'Thank you, thank 
you. You have helped me capture the men I wanted.' He said, 'If ever 
you get in trouble my authority will protect you.' He wrote a paper 
and sent me to a store nearby where I was clothed Then I returned to 
the General, who had me shown about the fort, and we camped all day and 
were guarded by soldiers so the Sioux would not bother us. Next day a 
steamer arrived. We saw the Sioux prisoners march down and get on the 
steamer and go away. 

"After some time we went home and reached our country safely, 
being guarded part way by the soldiers." 

The Story of Mah-een-gonce 

Mah-een-gonce, or Little Wolf, was a rather small Ojibwa Indian 
about fifty years of age. He was an inmate of the Indian boarding-house 
at White Earth, Minnesota, in 1909. I observed that this Indian had lost 
both legs at the knee, and walked about with great difficulty. On Sundays, 
he arrayed himself in his best garments and strapped to his knees two 
cork legs, on the feet of which he wore laced shoes. He managed to walk 
fairly well when he had on what he called his "white man's legs". I asked 
him how he happened to lose his feet and he told me a remarkable story of 
his own suffering, and sacrifice on the part of his grandfather. 

"When I was twelve years old, I happened to be in camp with my 
parents near Crow-wing, Minnesota. At this place there were four large 
wigwams in which lived thirty or more Indians. One of the head men 
called us together and made announcement that he would move the camp 
to a place called Hackensack. Some of the Indians did not wish to go there, 
as it was snowing heavily and we were comfortably located. But Say- 
kash-e-gay, the head man, started in one direction with the main party, 
and my mother, grandmother, grandfather and myself went in another 
direction. Grandfather said that game was very scarce and food short in 
the Hackensack region, and that he thought he could take us to a small 
lake where we would be able to pass the winter without suffering. 



410 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



"You must know that this was the winter of the great blizzard in 
northern Minnesota., when some people died, many suffered, and much 
stock of the white people froze to death. 

4, As we walked along, my grandmother said she did not feel well. It 
grew exceedingly cold and the wind blew very hard. We traveled along 
slowly, each helping the other through the drifting snow. We came to a 
little creek, and my grandfather said. 'Let us stop here'. Near this creek, 
my grandmother sank down exhausted. Grandfather broke dry wood 
and made a large fire. We put grandmother by the fire and she lay down 
while the rest of us moved about to warm ourselves. During the night 
grandmother died and grandfather carried her over the side of a big rock 
and placed her there. We passed a hard night ; it was bitterly cold and the 
wind howled through the trees. Grandfather said the evil spirits in the 
pines were laughing at us. In the morning I felt pains in my feet and 
spoke to my grandfather and said. 'Grandpa, my feet hurt very much. 
There is something the matter with them." He built up a big fire and 
helped me to remove my leggings and we warmed them by the fire, but 
I could not keep my feet near the heat, because of the pain I suffered. 

"We had eaten the last of our food the previous evening. It continued 
to snow and was so cold that the limbs of tl:e trees snapped with loud 
noises. My mother died of the cold about noon. After she died, we changed 
our position to the side of a sheltered hill and grandpa built another fire. 
All that afternoon and night it continued to snow. Grandfather lay down 
about dark near the fire, and he lay partly doubled up with his face toward 
the fire, and his back away from it. He put me inside the hollow his body 
formed, so that the fire warmed me, and his body protected my back from 
the cold. I felt that I was freezing. Grandfather could not keep up the 
fire, for he began to get stiff and he told me to throw on the wood. He held 
me close to him all night and said, now and then. ' Are you warm?' 

"The snow continued to bank up all of the next day. Grandpa could 
not move about, but I managed to get wood enough to keep the fire burn- 
ing. The third day we were too weak to travel. Then the sun came out. 
it was a beautiful day. and we heard a bell ringing in the distance. 

"Grandpa said. 'That must be the bell of the Mission church. We 
can hear it because the air is still and cold.' 

"After a long silence, grandfather said, 'My son, I cannot live. Try 
to get up and save your life.' 

"I replied. 'No. I will not leave you. I will die with you.' 

" 'No,' commanded my grandfather, 'you must go. You must not 
stay here. You are too young to die.' And he gave me his papers, for he 



TWO STORIES 



411 



was a chief and had papers from Washington and a medal, and other 
things. I shook hands with him and told him goodbye, and started in the 
direction of the bell. I cut two sticks for canes to help hold me up, as my 
legs were like wood. I was very weak and hungry. Grandfather raised 
his body a little — he was half sitting up, raising himself with his hands — 
when I looked back at him, he looked at me and then put his head down. 
I went along slowly for some time. I heard some one singing. Then I 
thought that people were calling me. About noon I was weak and sleepy 
and could not go on. My legs were heavy, like logs. But it had become 
much warmer, so I cut down some small bushes, made a bed and lay down, 
very tired. While lying there my grandfather seemed to come and stand 
by me, and I said to him, 'Are you going along?' and he replied, 'Yes, yes, 
don't lie here. Get up and exert yourself like a man.' 

"When I woke up it was morning and I was very stiff and cold. I 
had to roll over and get my feet and legs down a hill in order to stand up. 
I cut two more canes with which to hold me up. I struggled on most of that 
day and in the afternoon reached some cabins of my people. They carried 
me in and gave me soup and afterwards some meat chopped fine. Then 
my legs began to hurt me. They rubbed them with snow but that did no 
good. Oh, what pain I suffered! In a few days my feet began to decay, 
and they took me to a doctor, and he cut off both my legs. For many 
months afterwards I suffered tortures and wished to die. 

"A few weeks later, the people went out and found my grandfather 
dead by the ashes of our little fire. They also recovered the bodies of my 
grandmother and my mother. If grandfather had not held me next to 
the fire, and protected me with his own body that long, cold night, I, too, 
would today be in the Land of the Spirits " 



Unwise Purchases 

The educated Indians should take a more positive stand in the matter 
of protecting their more unfortunate brethren. Far be it from me to cast 
reflections on these persons, but truth compels the statement that a number 
who should have been foremost in safeguarding the interests of ignorant 
aborigines availed themselves of close association with their fellowmen to 
secure property. At White Earth, of the thirty-seven men and women men- 
tioned in the Government affidavits as securing lands, at least a dozen were 
educated Indians. This sad fact impressed Inspector Linnen and myself, 



UNWISE PURCHASES 



413 



and we often talked regarding it. The temptation on the part of some 
educated Indians is to follow the example set by white men. Let me present 

an illustration. In Oklahoma I met Joe B . He informed me that forty 

acres of land were enough for any Indian. I said, "Joe, how many acres 
do you own?" "Oh, about 2,000." Joe was red, as to color, but he had 
the heart of the white man. 

Years ago the Department of Justice began an investigation of land 
cases in the State of Oklahoma. Honorable A. N. Frost acted as Special 
Assistant to the Attorney General. Mr. Frost was asked to resign from 
his office a short time ago. He delivered a stirring address at the Lake 
Mohonk Conference this year. In this address (of which I present a part) 
Mr. Frost referred to the 30,000 Oklahoma land suits before the Depart- 
ment of Justice. According to his published statement, Senator Owen is 
concerned in 154 of these suits. I present excerpts from Mr. Frost's 
remarks herewith. 

Lake Mohonk Conference, Wednesday evening, October 1J^, 19H 

"Immediately subsequent to the removal of the restrictions act of 
1908 a veritable Saturnalia of deed-taking from the unrestricted allottees 
was carried on by the hungry land-buyers, white, red, and black. The 
man who has secured a prior deed from the now unrestricted allottee had the 
best chance to secure a new one, and he did so in thousands of cases. Many 
such had been secured by Senator Owen of Oklahoma, or by his agents for 
him. There are today pending in these bills 154 so-called cases against him 
for recovery of Indian lands, most of them involving restricted allottees 
and many now unrestricted. 

"Under the law a deed taken in pursuance of an illegal contract is as 
void as the illegal contract is; in the absence of a new and completely valid 
consideration. If the prior deed was invalid, if it was a violation of the 
restrictions against alienation imposed by an act of Congress and there- 
fore totally and completely void, and if that subsequent deed was in 
pursuance and in furtherance of that invalid contract, then it is my firm 
belief that the second deed is as totally and absolutely invalid as the first. 
Involved in this proposition is necessarily the question of adequacy of 
consideration. Using the Owen unrestricted cases again solely as an 
illustration, I do not know whether an adequate consideration was paid or 
not, though an attempt was made to secure from him the necessary in- 
formation to determine it, without success. If such was paid, of course, 



414 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



in his, as in all other cases, no further action ought to be taken by the Gov- 
ernment. I presented this proposition of law to the Court; the Court said, 
that may be so, you may be right in the principle of law which you have 
stated, but the Government itself, the allottee being unrestricted, is with- 
out any power to bring a suit on his behalf to have that second deed can- 
celled. I urged upon the Department an authorization to appeal from the 
decision of the Court for the reason that a remedy left to the volition of 
the incompetent allottee is no remedy at all. Up to the time of my ceasing 
to be connected with the work in Oklahoma, no appeal had been authorized. 
I do not know why. 

"A word in conclusion. It seems evident that there has been of late, 
upon the part of the Washington departments dealing with Indian affairs, 
a susceptibility to political influence in connection with Indian matters. 
I want to lift my voice in emphatic protest against the introduction of the 
spoils system into Indian activities. As an illustration: Mr. Mott, than 
whom there was no more faithful servant of the Indian people, and who 
has accomplished wonders in their behalf in the matter of minors' estates, 
was removed; he was replaced by Judge Allen as counsel for the Creek 
tribe of Indians. At the time, there were in the litigation I conducted 
some sixty odd cases to cancel deeds taken by him personally, or by a 
company in which he was interested, from members of the Creek tribe of 
which he was appointed counsel. Mr. Owen, the United States Senator, 
as I have said before, is involved in some 154 cases, covering full-blood and 
mixed-blood lands, taken from the Cherokee people. In charge of the 
litigation has been placed an official commonly reputed to be a personal 
appointee of Senator Owen, the United States attorney who was at one time 
himself a defendant in the suits. I do not mean by this to imply that any 
one, or all of these gentlemen, have not or will not accomplish much good 
for these people, but I do wish to contend most emphatically for the utmost 
singleness of purpose and freedom from all possible entanglements which 
might even unconsciously warp judgment in the men selected to deal with 
these and all Indian matters. I cite these illustrations, not for the purpose 
of striking at anybody in high places. It is farthest from my thoughts and 
I sincerely wish for them all the highest degree of success in their efforts in 
behalf of the Indian. What I have said with reference to them is true to an 
all too great degree among many other men of prominence in Oklahoma. I 
wish to repeat that there should be selected in connection with the liti- 
gation, in connection with all Indian affairs in the State of Oklahoma, 



UNWISE PURCHASES 



415 



men absolutely free from all suspicion of influence, of any kind, in order 
that their efforts and their work may be devoted, singly and solely, to that 
which will benefit the Indian allottee; and in this connection I want to 
say, too, that no man ever had associated with him in public work a more 
loyal, efficient and devoted set of men than it has been my privilege to 
have had in the years of my activity in Indian matters in Oklahoma. I 
am not among those who decry the people of the State of Oklahoma as a 
whole; I have lived among that people for a period of six years; I have 
learned to love and respect them, and to admire their enterprise and spirit 
of progress amid necessarily adverse circumstances, not a little of which 
was caused by the work I was engaged in, necessary as I believe it was. 

"Arouse the citizenship of Oklahoma as you would the citizens of 
the State of New York or of my own State of Massachusetts, and you will 
find that it is composed of the same class and type of men, ready to respond 
at once to the call of duty to suppress wrong. 

"That there exists the other class is beyond question, just as it exists 
elsewhere. The existence of the conditions which called forth the litigation 
is proof of this; but, mark you, since the institution of these suits, and as 
a consequence thereof, because of the work of the Commissioner to the 
Five Civilized Tribes and the Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the 
administration of their offices and in connection with these suits, a much 
better feeling has existed among the citizens of Oklahoma, and today you 
will find that except among such as have heretofore taken widespread 
and universally of these lands and are therefore interested personally, 
there are many who deprecate the wrongs as much as you or I. 

"Another wrong impression I want to attempt to correct. In conse- 
quence of the litigation and other causes among them, too much generality 
in the discussion of these matters, statements have been made that titles 
in eastern Oklahoma are unsafe. Based upon my years of experience in 
connection with this work, necessitating the reviewing of more titles probably 
than ordinarily falls to the lot of any one man, I confidently make the 
assertion that nowhere in the United States can there be found any better 
titles than those in eastern Oklahoma once they have been properly 
acquired." 



AN OJIBWA WOMAN DYING OF CONSUMPTION 

After hearing her story, I drew an affidavit containing her testimony, to the effect 
that she was swindled out of $20,000 worth of property, and left to die in poverty. 
Unable to sit up, she requested that I take her hand and affix her 
thumb print to the paper. The photograph was taken in 
a room where the light was very poor, and 
it has been necessary to redraw it. 
March 1909, Pine Point, Minn. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. GENERAL COMMENTS AND 
SUGGESTIONS 

There are some general observations which I desire to make prior to 
my conclusions. Any one of these might be expanded into an entire chapter, 
but since that is impracticable, it is necessary in the following pages to 
refer to a number of subjects both related and unrelated. 

An illuminating comment as to affairs on the Great Plains between 
1850 and 1880 is found in the Mormon records of their great migration 
from the East to Salt Lake City. There is no authentic narrative indicating 
a serious clash between these Mormons and the thousands of Indians 
whom they encountered. After their location in Salt Lake City and vicinity 
they preserved friendly relations with the Indians. Brigham Young made 
a statement, embodying the above facts, to Honorable J. V. Farwell, one 
of the original members of the Board of Indian Commissioners, in 1869. 

People interested in Indians would do well to consult the early reports 
of the Board of Indian Commissioners. The first one was written in 1869 
and published in 1870. Contrary to general belief, the Five Civilized 
Tribes, living in what was then Indian Territory, were working, building 
houses, fencing lands, and progressing. In other sections of the country 
as well there was progress to be noted. We do not need to confine our 
observations to the Apache country, Oklahoma or California in order to 
prove that the disinclination of many Indians to work, was entirely due 
to the fact that the Indian was suddenly removed from savagery and placed 
in civilization. Practically all Indians were self-supporting, prior to white 
domination. Otherwise, they would have soon died of starvation. The 
deterioration of the Indian was caused not entirely by removal of the 
means of livelihood (lands, game, irrigation, etc.,) but because of unwise, 
not to say foolish and incompetent, handling of Indian affairs. Washington 
is not so much to blame as is the entire country. Let us consider a specific 
instance at some length. Mr. John H. Seger went among the Cheyenne 
Indians in 1872. From Darlington, Oklahoma, he ran a stage to Fort 
Elliot, Texas, 160 miles. In 1884 the cattle men leased all the Cheyenne 
and Arapaho reservation west of the South Canadian River. They paid 
$100,000 per year, cash rent. As these Indians were drawing blankets, 
rations and clothing from the Government, so large a sum of money nearly 
ruined them. Captain J. M. Lee was appointed Agent, and after two 
years the Government cancelled the leasing privilege. These Indians, 



418 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



who formerly raised corn and hauled freight (thus earning money in ad- 
dition to their free sustenance) complained, and desired to continue the 
leasing privilege in order that they might loaf. Captain Lee concluded 
that Mr. Seger was the only man able to persuade the Indians to return 
to their former mode of life. Seger was given to understand that if he 
learned the language, and gave up his life to the care of this band of Indians, 
he would be continued in the Service. He moved the Indians sixty miles 
to the Washita River and founded what is known as Seger's Colony. The 
story of his work among these Indians and the many difficulties he over- 
came makes very interesting reading. Seger established a school and later 
the place was known as Seger township. Indians soon constructed twenty- 
eight houses. He labored for more than twelve years, persuaded a mission- 
ary organization to establish a mission and the last year he was in 
charge the net profits of the industries carried on at his school amounted 
to $6,993. The story of his removal and the subsequent purchase of much 
of the Indians' land would be a repetition of what has occurred elsewhere 
in this country. I never could understand why competent men are not 
retained. Frequent removals, or changes in Washington, are of less moment, 
but in Indian communities much is lost and very little gained when a 
faithful employee, who has perfected himself in a study of his people, is 
removed from office and some stranger placed in his stead. 

Several thousand Indians owning farms protect themselves and hold 
their own against white people. They do this notwithstanding changes of 
men or of laws. Such need no protection, and I have said little concerning 
them in this book. I would that all Indians were so satisfactorily placed 
in our body politic. As an illustration of this class of Indians, I present 
the following incident. 

When travelling with Major Brennan across Pine Ridge reservation, 
I observed on the cabin of an educated Indian, who wished to protect his 
allotment, a large board sign which read as follows: 

NOTICE 

NO TRESPASSING WILL BE ALLOWED 
ON MY ALLOTMENT UNDER PENALTY 
OF THE LAW 

JOHN T. BEAR 

There have been a number of references in this book to Canada. 
Mr. Duncan C. Scott, who holds that office in Canada corresponding to 
our Commissioner of Indian Affairs, attended the Lake Mohonk Conference 
this year. He showed us a few thin pamphlets — all the regulations, laws, 



COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS 



419 



statements, methods of procedure, etc., necessary in the management of 
Canadian Indian affairs. With us we employ skilled lawyers to fathom 
the intent of our legislators. They must needs delve into thousands of 
pages of conflicting laws, rules and statutes. And after one set of attorneys 
have presented their views, the mass of legal rulings is so enormous and 
complicated that other attorneys assigned the same task usually arrive 
at exactly opposite conclusions from those presented by the first corps ! 

Mr. Scott also informed us that when a white man marries an Indian 
woman in Canada, he has no part in tribal or individual property. The 
Government issues no deeds to the Indians, but they live on their farms 




MEDAL PRESENTED BY PRESIDENT GRANT TO CHIEF RED CLOUD IN 1871 

Secured from Mrs. Red Cloud and Jack Red Cloud for the Trustees of Phillips Academy, Andover, 
Mass., in 1909, by W. K. Moorehead. Solid silver. Full size. 



as do ours. All incentive to graft is removed. The simple, effective Cana- 
dian management of Indian affairs, compared with our ponderous, com- 
plicated and ignorant handling of the same class of people in this country, 
points a very strong moral. 

Of those who have done much on behalf of the Indian, I neglected to 
emphasize the work of Honorable James M. Graham, Congressman from 
Illinois, and Honorable Henry George, Jr., of New York. 

These two gentlemen served on the Congressional Committee referred 
to in Chapters IV- VIII. There were other members on this same Com- 
mittee, who did good work, but I believe Messrs. Graham and George 



420 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



were the only two who attended all of the sessions. Omitting the members 
of Congress already mentioned in the book, those who have been especially 
active in protecting Indians are Honorable Senators LaFollette, Townsend, 
Ashurst, Lane, Page and Gronna; and Honorable Congressmen Konop, 
Church, Campbell, McGuire, Miller, Lenroot, Murdock and Stevens 
(Nebraska) . 

I have tried to indicate in a number of places in this book why so 
many of our Indian tribes are practically at a standstill, so far as progress 
along lines of civilization is concerned. Put into one concrete statement, 
the reason for the unsatisfactory condition of many of our Indians is due 
to the following: — First, we have hurried them into citizenship before they 
were qualified to assume full responsibility. Second, many of the farms 
and tracts improved by Indians, after much labor, have been taken away. 

Certain of the missions were very successful, and numbers of them 
are so at the present day. The famous Riggs family of missionaries among 
the Sioux, succeeded in building up communities of Christian Indians and 
promoting thrift and industry. Rev. Gilflllan's missions in Minnesota, 
and the Catholic mission near Pine Ridge are illustrations of what can be 
done with Indians when one has secured their confidence. So long as there 
is no change in management, and the Indians are not hurried, much progress 
on their part is sure to result. But, unfortunately, as has been indicated, 
we have no more than persuaded a band of Indians to become progressive 
than we destroy all incentive to further progress. This was done in the 
case of the Pima and Papago, in addition to other tribes frequently men- 
tioned. Indians develop farms and become self-supporting only to see the 
result of their labor swept away. Beyond question, we have hurried the 
Indian, and forced allotments and citizenship upon him far too rapidly. 
We should have moved slowly, as they do in Canada, and avoid the dread- 
ful scandals and the increase of disease and pauperism. The Indians are 
more or less confused by our numerous rulings, changes of officials, etc. 
An Indian said to me in Minnesota: "We used to live in the open air and 
were healthy. You told us to live in houses. We became sick. Now you 
tell us to again live in the open air. The white man has many minds." 

The old method of gradual extension of civilizing influences was 
generally successful. And, in all sections of the country where such a plan 
is followed, the Indians are doing quite well. Indians can be led, or per- 
suaded, far more satisfactorily than driven. The Navaho have never 
been driven, but were permitted to slowly, yet satisfactorily, progress 
along certain lines. An educated Indian once summed up to me our general 
policy with reference to the average Indian in Oklahoma: — "You put a 



COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS 



421 



few words of English in his mouth, a coat on his back, thrust a deed to 
valuable property in his hands, and send him out among shrewder white 
men, expecting him to hold his own." 

Even the wildest Indians might have been led along the path to 
civilization had we approached the subject in the proper manner. Setting 
aside temporarily my rule not to refer to affairs prior to 1850, permit me 
to indicate what Rev. Zeisberger and Rev. Heckewelder accomplished in 
the Ohio wilderness before the American Revolution. They established 
missions on t;he Muskingum River and conducted these successfully, in 
spite of the fact that all the Ohio and Indiana Indians were at war 
with the settlers of Kentucky, Virginia and Pennsylvania. These men 
dealt with, and worked among, a class of Indians as hostile as many of 
those in the West. At the time the missions were destroyed by one William- 
son and other white murderers, the chapels, houses, fenced fields, and 
other evidences of civilization were in advance of that exhibited in any 
white community lying between central Pennsylvania and the Spanish 
missions. The reason for the success of the Moravian mission lay in this 
fact: that the missionaries were permitted to labor unhampered in a 
remote section of the country, there were no white people near, no de- 
moralizing influences. They did not force industry upon the natives 
suddenly, but by a slow and persistent policy of training and education, 
brought about the desired result. With us, in these modern days, in far 
too many places, we have not only exhibited undue haste in preparing our 
Indians for citizenship, but we have shown a general incompetence in 
managing their affairs. 

There is yet another and equally important reason so many of our 
Indians are discouraged, or backward, or indolent. Most nations, or 
tribes of men, learn the lessons of life in the hard school of adversity. The 
Indian had his school of adversity, but the curriculum was totally different 
from that observed in any other institution of similar character. He had, 
on the one hand what Mr. Humphrey has called "the great Unselfishness" 
(page 375), and on the other the exact opposite of "the great Unselfishness." 
The "great Selfishness" destroyed the Indian — nothing else. The Indian 
found it exceedingly difficult to adapt himself to the new conditions. 
Through education, he was able to fathom the inconsistencies of the white 
man's teachings and practices. Being human, he refused to develop his 
property, if by so doing he merely fattened the pocketbook of some covetous 
white man. His vast tribal estates furnished him with moneys at stated 
occasions, and, relying too much upon these, he drifted into indolent habits. 
The unlettered aborigine, as well as the educated Indian, observed that we 



422 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



were continually concerned with the Indian rather than with white people 
responsible for the Indians' condition. This to them was inexplicable. 
The illustration presented me on this score by a certain educated Indian 
presents the thought quite forcibly. "Suppose a ranchman owned a large 
tract of land on which grazed some thousands of sheep. Around his ranch 
ranged hundreds of coyotes. The wolves frequently destroy the sheep. 
The ranchman is continually changing the sheep from one pasture to 
another, in order to avoid the wolves. He devotes all his energies to the 
sheep, instead of destroying the wolves." 

Consider the whiskey problem, about which so much has been printed. 
There are laws and regulations sufficient to control this evil. Yet everyone 
seems concerned in preventing Indians from drinking whiskey, or arresting 
drunken Indians. So long as the State authorities do not enforce the laws 
against white men who introduce whiskey, it will be impossible to prevent 
Indians from drinking. Equally applicable are the laws against theft 
from Indians. In spite of all our investigations, few white men are ever 
sent to the penitentiary for swindling Indians. As in the case of whiskey, 
there are ample laws for the protection of Indian property and the punish- 
ment of grafters, yet they are seldom enforced. Honorable William H. Taft, 
ex-President of the United States, has in his public addresses frequently 
called attention to our lax enforcement of laws and our apparent disrespect 
of the courts, as compared with the high regard in which the English hold 
their legal machinery, and the impartial manner in which they administer 
justice. 

All these things, in their ensemble, discourage the average Indian, 
just as they would affect the average white man. Prison sentences, instead 
of small fines, would put an end to graft and drunkenness, and would have 
a far-reaching effect in raising the Indian to a real citizenship. AYe have 
tried moral suasion and it has failed absolutely. Let us now employ force 
against the guilty. 



CHAPTER XL. CONCLUSIONS 



In studying Indians, the scientist deals with facts. The historian is a 
scientist in that he records facts ; the sociologists and persons interested in 
political economy and government, draw conclusions from facts. Mani- 
festly, we should formulate our Indian policy upon scientific principles. 
We should be governed solely and absolutely by facts and past experiences. 
Yet, although our Government in all other branches of its great Service 
profits by human experience in our own country and elsewhere, in our 
handling of the Indian, it is safe to affirm that we have not heeded the lessons 
of the past. 

The Indian policy the past two or three years has appreciably changed 
for the better. If the reforms instituted by Honorable Cato Sells can be 
carried out as planned, we shall conserve much of the Indian property that 
remains. The Indians still possess vast estates, and with economy and 
protection, there is sufficient land to care for all of them, save on 
a few reservations. In Oklahoma and Minnesota it will be necessary to 
either buy farms, or permit Indians to continue as paupers, or move them 
to Montana, Idaho or Nevada. The great Navaho tract, including a 
portion of the Public Domain, is now crowded. There can be no further 
increase of Navaho population in the present area. Either the Indians 
must have more land, or suffer. Omitting all other reservations and Indian 
areas, and classifying them as satisfactory (although some of them are not) 
the situation confronting us today may be bluntly stated as follows : — 
You can take no more land away from the Indians, unless you desire to 
make of them paupers. You cannot expect them to hold their own with 
the white people, unless you change their status from a paper citizenship 
to a real citizenship. Making of them citizens, without the ordinary pro- 
tection enjoyed by other Americans, produces instead of citizens, paupers. 
The detailed evidence of this has been presented in previous chapters. 

We all admit that we owe the Indian much. Nobody denies that we 
have done the individual Indian a service, through our education and 
civilizing influences. Why, then, is it that there is not more land under 
cultivation today than in 1871? Because of the conflicting rulings and 
laws, the breaking of treaties, the cancelling of agreements entered into 
by States, and, finally, the taking of individual farms. This has discouraged 
the average Indian. 

Far be it from me to be disloyal to my own Government, but I express 
the firm conviction that our particular form of government is such that 



424 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



administration of Indian Affairs is rendered extremely difficult. Put 
plainly (if not bluntly), our form of government is not conducive to satis- 
factory management or supervision of a dependent people. The reason, 
as every thinking man and woman knows, is because we make the high 
office of Indian Affairs a political appointment. The Commissioner no 
more than learns his duties, and becomes competent and efficient, than 
he is removed and another installed in his place. Since 1834 there have 
been thirty-one Commissioners, and the average tenure of office is a trifle 
over two and one-half years. The same is true of Indian Superintendents — 
formerly called Agents. I never could understand why they changed the 
name, for the Superintendent is still an Agent. I am perfectly willing to 
accept the shrewd Indian's definition — "It is the same man, only he 
wears a different coat." 

The frequent changes in the office of Commissioner has not worked 
to the advantage of the Indians. Since 1907 we have had three Commis- 
sioners and an acting Commissioner — F. E. Leupp, R. G. Valentine, 
F. H. Abbott, and Cato Sells. AH of these men have been energetic and 
intelligent, as were their predecessors, but they have been removed, or they 
resigned under political pressure; and as a result those who are fighting for 
the Indians' rights must go over the same old story, again and again, 
submit and resubmit the same evidence as one appointee succeeds another. 
This is even true of the Honorable Secretary of the Interior himself. As 
an illustration, I would cite the case of French-Canadians of northern 
Minnesota . 

After the White Earth investigation, we begged Secretary Garfield 
to strike from the White Earth rolls the French-Canadian element — 
headed by one Gus H. Beaulieu. It was contended that those persons had 
come down from Canada and settled themselves on the Ojibwa, and were 
a continual source of trouble. Enough evidence was presented to make 
our position impregnable. Secretary Garfield hesitated to act, and passed 
the matter to his successor, Mr. Ballinger, who in turn transferred it to 
Mr. Fisher, and it is now before Secretary Lane. If the Honorable Sec- 
retary, Mr. Garfield, had acted in the first place heroically and promptly, 
he would have placed the burden of proof on the shoulders of the French- 
Canadian element (where it properly belonged), and several pages of 
unpleasant American Indian history would not have been written. 

Be these things as they may, they exist, and until our Congress ap- 
points a national and paid commission to take over the entire Indian body 
and their property — so long as the Indian, and the Indian Office, remain 
political footballs, just so long will the games continue played in the old 



CONCLUSIONS 



425 



way, with no new rules, and since coaching from the side-lines is permitted, 
the strongest and the most brutal teams will win. 

The freest and most varied opinions regarding Indian affairs are 
expressed at the Lake Mohonk Conferences. I have referred to them 
elsewhere, but I desire to repeat that at the conferences, where hundreds 
of missionaries, philanthropists, sociologists, Government employees and 
others assemble, we obtain the facts, hear recommendations, and debate 
on the policy concerning our wards. 

The addresses delivered at these remarkable gatherings carry great 
weight throughout the country, for the reason that those who address 
the audiences have made extended observations in various parts of the 
field. A summary of these many opinions delivered during the past five 
years, indicates one general trend of thought. And that is that the end 
of the tribal system among the Indians is not so much at hand, as already 
accomplished. It requires no prophetic vision to observe the setting of the 
Indians' sun. All agree to this general proposition. The many scientists 
of our research institutions, both large and small, are energetically seeking 
out what little remains of tribal and aboriginal customs and beliefs. They 
know that in a few years it will be too late to make scientific researches 
among Indians. They employ patient search and much discrimination 
to here and there discover a smouldering ember of the ancient council fire. 
And, I think, it requires further energy and patience on the part of the 
ethnologists to fan the feeble ember until it bursts forth into flame! 

The Government employee is pushing his educational problem, per- 
suading most of the Indians to work, and improving the daily life of these 
people. The doctors and the field matrons use their best endeavor to 
establish sanitary measures, and proper home life. The great Indian 
schools are discharging hundreds of competent graduates ; the Congressmen 
are removing restrictions, according citizenship, selling surplus lands, and 
doing all that they can to hasten the end of the Indian as a dependent body. 
And last of all, comes the undesirable class — the grafter and the boot- 
legger — one taking away the Indian property in many sections of our 
country, and the other debauching all Indians who have not the moral 
stamina to resist. The good people, and the majority, are uplifting, saving 
and preparing the Indian for citizenship. Working together, they are 
acting in the best interests of that great and new movement, known as 
"Social Service." Fighting against them is the undesirable element - 
that class responsible for the pauperizing of the Indians of Oklahoma, 
Minnesota, California and elsewhere. I have pointed out in previous 
chapters of this book both the good and the evil. The real workers — 



MISS KATE BARNARD, OF OKLAHOMA. See pages 137, 150, and 170 
She is waging battle for the protection of Indian minors and orphans. 



CONCLUSIONS 



427 



whether in the Government Service, employed by missions, members of 
philanthropic organizations, state officials, or private citizens — are doing 
their part. We may criticize some of their rulings or methods of procedure, 
for we all make mistakes, and no man or woman engaged in the real work 
of the world can avoid error. Frequently we make enemies — particularly 
so if we stand up for the rights of the Indian. But while this is true, the 
general trend is in favor of just treatment of the Indian, and the great 
object in view is his absorption into the body politic. 

Whether this shall be accomplished depends entirely upon the relative 
strength between those who build up, and those who destroy. The issue 
is between the grafter and bootlegger, and the respectable citizen. The 
great Navaho is as yet unspoiled. The Sioux, the Apache, the Crow and 
others are doing very well. If we permit foolish or unwise legislation to 
dominate in the region inhabited by the tribes I have named, we shall 
destroy the best of that which is left, even as we have destroyed in Okla- 
homa and Minnesota. I have clearly pointed out the high character of 
the Ojibwa and the Five Civilized Tribes forty years ago as compared 
with the present, and that the responsibility for this decline rests with us, 
rather than with the Indians themselves, or the Indian Office. 

Since 1834, we have gone on in a well-meaning but stupid and blunder- 
ing way. We have persuaded scores of bands to take the white man's 
road, and by foolish legislation, wars, the crowding by Whites, etc., de- 
stroyed their original confidence in us. As if these were not sufficient, in the 
great State of Oklahoma, where one-third of the entire Indian body is 
located, we have had brought before us through reports of Commissions and 
individuals and a cloud of witnesses, the result of our policy. In spite of 
this, we have recently deliberately removed, or forced to resign, some of the 
persons most competent and longest in the Service in that State — Messrs. 
Mott, Gresham, Frost, Kelsey and Wright. What was the real reason? Did 
the great majority of citizens of Oklahoma — the law-abiding and upright — 
desire that faithful servants, who understood their duties, should be forced 
out? No! Because a relatively small number of oil, coal, land, timber 
and stock men wished to become rich. Public sentiment through the news- 
papers has been influenced, persons who were not interested in politics 
have been accused of the very thing which dominated their accusers. 
Politics is at the bottom of it all. 

The agitation in Oklahoma, begun by the small coterie referred to, 
and, at the insistence of interested persons and newspapers, and not pre- 
vented by Congressmen from that State, has resulted in the present removal 
from office of the men best able to protect the Indians. Does all of this 



428 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



indicate that the Commissioner, Mr. Sells, will not protect the Indians? 
By no means. As I have said, he and his able assistant, Mr. Meritt, and 
all the officials are honorable and upright men. But they cannot stand 
against the wishes of Congress. The Congressmen are all honest and up- 
right in their intentions — although two or three of them are on record as 
dealing in Indian lands — but they are compelled to act in accordance with 
the desires of their constituents. Witness the statement that the candidates 
for office, with very few exceptions, ran on the platform that all restrictions 
were to be removed and federal safeguards withdrawn {pages 139 and 144.) 

The Commissioner, although he may prepare a method of procedure 
for the Judges handling Indian cases in the Probate Court (as Mr. Sells has 
done), is really powerless, if Congress decides to remove the few remaining 
safeguards in Oklahoma, or to divide up any other reservation. All Com- 
missioners have said practically the same thing: that they stood back 
of the Indian, protected his rights, were in favor of progress and edu- 
cation, etc., etc. Statements embodying this sentiment are found in every 
public address of the various Commissioners during thirty years. 

The Commissioner may spend years in upbuilding industry among 
a certain band of Indians. The moment the reservation is thrown open 
to settlement, most of the Indians are speedily dispossessed. If he desires 
to protect the water rights of the Pimas and the white people living along 
the Gila River w sh the water, all the Inspector's reports, and all the Com- 
missioner's speeches, and all the Agent's protests, are in vain. The Con- 
gressmen from any of the affected districts must agree with their con- 
stituents, else they will be defeated at the next election. There are many 
exceptions, such as Honorable AY. N. Murray of Oklahoma, Honorable 
Charles H. Burke of South Dakota, Honorable James M. Graham and 
others, who have, in spite of popular clamor, stood for the rights of the 
Indians. 

The lack of true publicity in Indian Affairs, is also a factor working 
powerfully against the Indian. Between 1900 and 1909 we were given the 
impression that the Indian generally in the United States was in splendid 
condition. This had a very evil effect, in that there was no public agitation 
outside of the Indian Rights and the California Indian Associations for 
protection. The very best thing that ever happened to the Indian was 
the making public of dreadful conditions in California, Minnesota, Arizona, 
and Oklahoma. 

This aroused both the officials and Congress. Victor Locke, Chief of 
the Choctaws, said regarding the Oklahoma expose: — "The very day 
after Commissioner Moorehead's report was made public, I saw one of the 



CONCLUSIONS 



429 



county judges in the Choctaw country going from a printing-office with 
750 printed notices to guardians with respect to settlement with their 
Indian wards." 

If we had such publicity applied to every reservation, while it would 
be unpleasant, the taxpayers of the United States would soon realize that, 
unless our policy is radically changed, they will be called upon to support 
a vast number of homeless paupers. Beyond question, either the nation, 
or the respective States, will soon assume this burden. I desire to go on 
record as making this prophecy. 

As a concrete illustration of how those high in authority have misled 
the public, I desire to state that Honorable James S. Sherman, Vice- 
President of the United States, and for some years Chairman of the House 
Committee on Indian Affairs, in a public address before the Lake Mohonk 
Conference in October, 1911, stated that the United States Government 
had kept all its treaties and obligations with the Indians. Respect for the 
high office he occupied, prevented anyone replying to this amazing and 
preposterous utterance. The audience was composed of 400 or more 
persons of prominence, and Mr. Sherman's address was reported in many 
newspapers, with the result that the average reader naturally concluded 
that those who were seeking to better the condition of the Indians were 
sentimentalists, and that the Government had done its full duty. If the 
Committee of which he was chairman took that view, we have the explana- 
tion of many of the evils of the past fifteen years. For every agreement 
or promise, faithfully kept by the Government, I can cite a score which the 
authorities either ignored or made no effort to fulfill. 

"The treaties with the Indians have been gathered and published in 
a single volume. It may be said with confidence, that leaving out the merely 
formal ratifications of existing friendly relations, there is not one treaty 
that was negotiated in good faith by the United States." 

As the final proofs of this chapter were struck, the announcement 
came from Washington to the effect that the Honorable Secretary of the 
Interior intended to grant the Indians more freedom. In Mr. Lane's 
report, just issued, he takes the position that as many of our Indians are 
intelligent, the Government should hasten the day of removal of restrictions, 
or withdrawal of supervision over individual Indians. 

A careful study of the field, indicates that somewhere between one- 
third and one-half of our Indians might be immediately merged into the 
body politic. As against this statement, the evidence is indisputable that 
the remaining two-thirds (or one-half) if made free, in the full sense that 
term implies, will be in the same condition as the Indians of California, 




CHIEF PEO-PEO-TOLEKT. XEZ PERCE WARRIOR. CHIEF JOSEPH'S WAR, 
Photographed and copyrighted by L. V. McWhorter, 1911 



1877 



CONCLUSIONS 



431 



Minnesota, and Oklahoma. If all of our Indians were made free, and per- 
mitted to progress as the Cherokees did, prior to their removal west of the 
Mississippi, and until about the year 1900 in the State of Oklahoma, the 
Secretary's plan would succeed. But so long as the white people dis- 
criminate against Indian citizens, and the citizenship of the Indian is 
different from that enjoyed by ourselves, the setting free of all our Indians 
at this time will end in certain disaster. 

Two Plans for Indian Administration Reform 

On page 26 I have referred to the great and efficient machinery of 
the United States Indian Office. This tremendous institution is composed 
of many and complicated parts, and they run smoothly. Frequently 
certain parts are replaced. But is this great machine operated in the best 
interests of the Indian and of the public ?« The brain responsible for the 
guidance, or management of this plant, and the officers in charge of its 
various Departments desire to produce a finished product of real value 
to the world. How can they do so when they must needs change their 
operation often, not in the real interests of a finished product, but because 
of political expediency? 

It seems to me there are two, and only two ways, by which we may 
solve satisfactorily the Indian problem. Granted that a proper man is 
secured to occupy the position of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, that 
man should remain in office ten or fifteen years. England seldom makes 
mistakes in her management of a dependent people. When a good man 
is found, he is continued in office until he understands his people thoroughly. 
With us the reverse is true. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs has no 
real advisory body with whom to consult, except the committees in Con- 
gress. Naturally, more or less politics creep into the Office through such 
arrangement. Thirty years ago the United States Board of Indian Com- 
missioners consulted and advised with the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs. There is no reason why such a sensible arrangement is not carried 
into effect today. If the Board stood between the Commissioner and the 
Congressional Committees, a Commissioner would not be forced to accept 
decisions which he believed were inimical to the best interests of the In- 
dians. Assuming that the Commissioner was continued in office ten or 
fifteen years, and that the Board frequently met with him, unwise legis- 
lative acts would not be common — as at present. 

While the first suggestion has its merits, it seems to me that the plan 
proposed in the Lake Mohonk platform October, 1913, presents the most 



432 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



practical solution of the Indian problem. One of the speakers advocated 
a paid National Commission to take the place of the Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs and the Board of Indian Commissioners. In view of the 
fact that the welfare of 330,000 human beings and $1,200,000,000 worth 
of property are involved, he proposed the National Commission idea. 
This has caused considerable discussion. Some critics contended that 
nine were too many, that the Commission should be composed of seven. 
Others thought that five would be sufficient. Honorable Senator Joe 
Robinson of Arkansas, last winter, having heard of the Mohonk platform, 
introduced a bill appointing a Commission of three. Mr. Sells and Mr. 
Meritt were to be two of the Commissioners, and some one else would be 
selected as third member. This would not solve the problem, since such 
a commission would be political — although the members were all per- 
sonally above criticism. 

The Board of Indian Commissioners, serving in honorary capacity, 
cannot devote sufficient time for investigation of conditions on the reserva- 
tions, and in Indian communities. Its members are all exceedingly busy 
men. They have given much time, in spite of their other callings, to the 
work, as I have indicated in previous pages. 

The Commissioner himself, able though he be, in my humble opinion 
is beset by political considerations — which is no fault of his own. 

A high Commission in charge of our Philippine affairs with the work 
differentiated, and responsibilities placed upon each Commissioner, has 
resulted in a development of the Islands which has attracted the attention 
of the world during the brief period since the Spanish War. A similar 
commission of men of recognized qualifications, is entirely practicable 
in Indian affairs. 

The Mohonk recommendation is absolutely sound. The seven men 
would divide the work between them, one having charge of education, 
another of health, a third of citizenship, a fourth irrigation, a fifth finance — 
and so on through the list. Having assumed control, the office of Com- 
missioner and that of the honorary Board would be abolished. The hear- 
ings of this Commission would be open, quarterly reports would be pub- 
lished, and its findings made public. Its first duty would be to compile a 
roll, based on ethnological lines, of the full-blood and mixed-blood Indians. 
All competent educated Indians could be immediately eliminated from 
Government supervision. They would thus become citizens and cease to 
be included in the Indian body. The property of every ignorant full-blood, 
minor child, or incompetent would be restricted for twenty-five years, 
thus enabling all Indians to have reached adult age. 



CONCLUSIONS 



433 



We owe it to the American Indian that the Commission idea be carried 
into effect. Politics would not interfere with the Commission, for the 
reason that its public hearings would be reported in the papers, the good 
citizens, as well as the undesirable class, would either attend the hearings 
or familiarize themselves with the quarterly reports. Thus a general steal 
would be impossible. A single Commissioner cannot make all of his business 
public, and much that he does never reaches the light of publicity. In fact, 
I believe that because the Commissioner cannot take the public into his 
confidence, abuses are bound to occur. Often it remains for the Indian 
Rights Association, or other organizations, to appeal to the public and do 
that which the Indian Office should establish without outside influence. 
There would be far less incentive to dishonesty, were covetous white men 
compelled to deal with a Commission instead of an individual. The publi- 
cation of the Board's hearings and findings would have a deterrent effect 
on certain men who otherwise appeal to Senators or Congressmen. 

I have often contrasted the work of Dr. W. T. Grenfell in Labrador 
with that of organizations laboring among our Indians. We are not re- 
sponsible for the condition of the fishermen in Labrador, and they are 
numerically but a fraction as compared with our total Indian population. 
Yet Dr. Grenfell, through his lectures and publications has aroused such 
an interest in this country that he can collect for his Labrador work a sum 
far greater than that expended in support of six Indian missions. People 
are interested in him and his work because of the appeal he makes. The 
Labrador fishermen suffer no wrongs compared with our Indians, and their 
condition is far better than that of the average aborigine. Similar publicity 
given to Indian affairs through the reports and hearings of a National 
Commission, would arouse the American people, and a brighter day for 
the Indian would certainly dawn. 

No matter what is said, the Commissioner must fight alone and single- 
handed with the members of Congress. His is a great responsibility. Both 
Mr. Leupp and Mr. Valentine, in conversations with me, have admitted 
that the chief difficulty in handling the Indian problem is found in the word 
"politics". The Commissioner is dependent on Congress for his appro- 
priations. He may be sustained or opposed by members of Congress, and 
the public will remain in ignorance. He may not appeal save to the Secre- 
tary of the Interior. He must keep in mind the wishes of his political party. 
He will not admit political pressure when in office, but after leaving the 
Service, he may tell his story of trouble with politicians, as Mr. Leupp has 
in his book. Mr. Valentine could enlighten us further on "The Indian 
Office in Politics", did he care to speak. A paid National Commission 



434 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN 



would be dominated by no political party. Ten years' service would enable 
it to become entirely familiar with the needs of the Indians, whereas the 
average Commissioner, serving less than three years, barely becomes 
acquainted with the problem when he is succeeded by a new appointee. 

I recommend to the earnest consideration of the American people the 
Commission idea, as the only means of salvation of the American Indian. 
It will be said by critics that many of the tribes are making satisfactory 
progress and need no Commission; that the present organization of the 
Indian Office is sufficient. This is partly true, but a study of the table of 
statistics, and reference to the testimony submitted in this book, estab- 
lishes the sad fact, that the majority of the Indians must lose unless we 
make a radical change in our policy. It is useless to blind our eyes to hard 
facts; and these are that we develop a certain area after painstaking labor, 
and then through unwise acts (or legislation) we destroy the very tracts 
we have improved. 

The Indian must ultimately be merged into the body politic, as has 
been affirmed. But in bringing about this deseratum, it is not necessary 
to crush all happiness out of his life. For fifty years the Indian has followed 
a devious and uncertain trail, in the fond hope that he might reach his 
journey's end. If men and women, who through unintentional ignorance 
have given no heed to the welfare of our red xAmericans, will interest their 
Representatives in Congress, and also help to crystallize public opinion 
against further harmful legislation, it is quite possible that the National 
Commission plan may be carried into effect. After many years of study 
of the subject, I firmly believe that the welfare of the Indian depends upon 
the creation of such a Commission as has been indicated — one composed 
not of those interested in political parties, but on the contrary of competent 
men who understand Indians and their needs, of men who are willing to 
devote the best years of their lives to transforming the rough, uncertain 
trail along which the Indian has toiled, into a broad highway, upon which 
the Red Man may safely travel to his ultimate destination — the civilized 
community. And having reached the end of his journey, the Indian will 
live henceforth peacefully, and enjoy to the full the blessings of liberty, 
equality and justice. 



INDEX 



Abbott, F. H., 13, 242, 247, 248, 291, 359, 384, 424. 
Affidavits, 71, 74, 75, 77, 81, 82, 83, 84, 90, 91. 
Agricultural lands cultivated, 24, 27, 29, 66. 
Ah-bow-we-ge-shig, 93, 94. 
Ah-yah-baince, 81. 
Alabama, 33. 
Alaska Indians, 283. 
Allen, Edgar A., 13, 204. 
Allen, C. W., 174. 

Allen, J. Weston, 13, 74, 95, 149, 157, 247, 249, 251, 
252. 

Allotting, 27, 28, 33, 59, 62, 70, 71, 73, 76, 133, 248, 

333, 337, 338, 389. 
American Horse, 125, 128, 184. 
Andrus, Miss Caroline W., 13, 209. 
Anundensen, Mr., 77. 

Apache, 26, 43, 44, 219, 222, 223, 233, 237, 238, 

311, 314, 373, 404, 427. 
Appropriations, 26, 27, 63, 64, 363. 
Arapaho, 31, 102, 311, 314, 317. 
Arizona, 219, 221, 222, 223, 225, 233, 235, 237, 241, 

242, 250, 265, 282, 291, 373. 
Arkansas, 43. 

Armstrong, Gen. C. S., 205. 

Art and industries, 10, 28, 29, 35, 37, 227, 229, 232, 

241, 244, 256, 359-366. 
Ayer, E. E., 13, 31, 36, 40, 41. 
Ay-nah-me-ay-gah-bow, 5 6 . 
Bad River Reservation, 41, 42. 
Bannock Indians, 253. 
Ballinger, Secretary, 424. 
Barbour, Hon. Geo. W., 329. 

Barnard, Kate, 11, 13, 137, 150, 151, 154, 160, 163, 

167, 168, 170, 426, 427. 
Bartlett, George E., 101, 102, 112, 118, 132. 
Barrett, S. M., 233, 238. 
Bassett, Jim, 58. 

Bay-bah-dwun-gay-aush, 66, 81, 95, 399. 

Beaulieu, Clement, 55, 91. 

Beaulieu, Gus, 65, 67, 71, 79, 91, 93, 424. 

Bear, John T., 418. 

Beum, Lawyer, 80. 

Bibliography, 14, 98, 171, 172, 217, 277, 310. 

Big Foot, 127, 128. 

Big Head, 152. 

Blackfeet, 253. 

Blackmore, Hon. Wm., 179. 

Blue Whirlwind, 127. 



Board of Indian Commissioners, 36, 68, 69, 149, 221, 
240, 288, 291, 326, 327, 332, 336, 340, 417, 431, 
432. 

Boston Indian Citizenship Committee, 74, 149, 217, 
249. 

Brennan, Major John R., 13, 100, 105, 312, 418. 

Bright Eyes (Susette LaFlesche), 402. 

Bristow (Senator), 246. 

Brooke, Major John R., 122, 125. 

Brown, Capt. Frederick H., 177. 

Brown, John B., 133, 379. 

Browning, D. W., 384. 

Brule, 99, 401. 

Budrow, Ephraim, 81. 

Buffalo, 299-310. 

Bull Head, 123, 124. 

Burch, Judge Marsden C, 57, 59, 66, 68, 90. 

Bureau of Catholic Missions, 93, 282. 

Bureau of Ethnology, 15, 20, 100, 181, 229, 271. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, 25, 76, 261, 329. 

Burke, Hon. Charles H., 137, 155, 428. 

California, 28, 33, 70, 174, 213, 219, 241, 253, 267, 

270, 274, 282, 283, 291, 297, 325-310. 
California Indian Association, 282, 327, 335, 336, 

337. 

California Indians, 325-310, 372, 375. 

Canada, 18, 33, 54, 179, 191, 192, 197, 193, 199, 

310, 321, 371, 418. 
Carl, John, 91. 

Carlisle Indian School, 29, 38, 39, 79, 203, 201, 210, 

212, 215, 267, 268, 366, 412, 416. 
Carter Code Bill, 285. 
Carrington, Col. H. B., 177, 178, 192. 
Carrier Pigeon (Journal), 31. 
Century of Dishonor, 94, 183. 
Chapin, A. R., 125. 
Cass Lake, 45, 47, 51, 57. 
Cattle, 24, 29, 44, 237, 271, 359, 361. 
Catch-the-Bear, 124. 

Cherokees, 33, 133, 135, 140, 143, 153, 159, 274, 372, 
431. 

Cheyenne, 31, 102, 178, 185, 253, 254, 286, 308, 311, 

314, 317, 318, 372, 380, 400. 
Chickasaws, 133, 140, 143, 159, 161. 
Chief Joseph, 253, 402. 
Chilocco Indian School, 37, 204, 208. 
Chilocco School Journal, 29. 
Chippewa (see Ojibwa) 



436 



INDEX 



Chippewa Music, 20, 86. 

Choctaws, 133, 140, 143, 152, 153, 159, 164, 165, 
167, 276. 

Choctaw Investment Company, 167. 

Citizenship, Indian, 33. 

Civil Service Commission, 359. 

Clapp Amendment, 59, 60, 67. 

Clapp, Senator Moses E., 67, 68, 93. 

Cleveland, President, 133. 

Cliff-Dwellers, 291. 

Cochise, 220, 237. 

Cody, Col. Wm. F., 199, 301, 303. 

Colorado, 43. 

Comanches, 43, 44, 235, 236, 291, 304, 311, 314. 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 

41, 50, 68, 93, 96, 136, 183, 260, 265, 337, 341, 367, 

384, 428, 431, 433. 
Commissioner of the Five Civilized Tribes, 11, 28, 

139, 157. 
Communistic Life, 399, 400. 
Congressional Committees, 49, 185, 193, 194. 
Coolidge, Rev. Sherman, 201, 278, 284. 
Coronado, 233. 

Correspondents (data), 213, 214, 216, 260-264, 274- 

277, 387-397. 
Court of Claims, 286. 
Crazy Horse, 184, 402. 
Creek Council, 143. 

Creeks, 133, 137, 140, 143, 148, 155, 162, 214, 276, 

414. 
Crops, 24, 29. 

Crow, 26, 174, 190, 191, 253, 254, 294, 308, 380, 427. 
Crow Dog, 120, 121. 
Crow Foot, 123, 124. 

Crook, Gen. G. H., 222, 223, 238, 239, 308. 

Curtis, Miss Nathalie, 15. 

Cushing, Frank Hamilton, 229. 

Custer, General, 103, 184, 185, 190,303, 308, 316. 

Dagenett, Charles E., 13, 201. 

Dances, 111, 305, 400, 404, 405. 

Darr, John, 112. 

Dartmouth College, 200, 207. 

Dawes Commission, 133, 135. 

Day-cah-me-ge-shig, 81. 

Dennis, C. E., 85. 

Densmore, Miss Frances, 20, 66, 86, 280. 
Denver Conference, 285. 
Department of Agriculture, 28, 359. 
Department of Charities and Corrections, 137, 150, 
170. 

Department of Justice, 12, '57, 60, 70, 90, 95, 96, 
139, 394, 413. 



Department of the Interior, 25, 70, 141, 147, 168, 

185, 200, 212, 225. 
Diagram Indian Service, 32. 
Dickenson, Judge J. T., 166. 
Dixon, Dr. Joseph K., 12, 248. 
Dodge City, Kas., 182, 299, 300, 304, 311, 319. 
Dodge, Gen. (Col.), 174, 175, 177, 179, 236, 281, 

300, 376. 
Doubleday Page Co., 12. 

Drunkeness, 31, 53, 54, 61, 62, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 

276, 363, 422. 
Dull Knife, 319. 

Eastman, Dr. Charles A., 13, 15, 102, 185, 199, 201, 

202, 279, 284, 402, 403. 
Education, 27, 30, 37, 40, 50, 200-217, 231, 251, 282, 

335, 338. 
Eldridge, Mrs. Mary L., 250. 
Eliot, Rev. Samuel A., 224, 229, 242, 248. 
Ellis, Mrs. Rose, 78, 407. 
Espinosa Pedro, 236. 
Fairs, 256, 361, 363. 
Fairbanks, Albert, 55. 
Fairbanks, Ben, 55, 91. 
Farms, 359-366. 
Farrell, F. E., 31. 
Fasler, Addie B., 165, 166. 
Federal Government, 331. 
Fetterman, Col. Wm. J., 177, 315. 
Few Tails, 129, 130. 
Fewkes, Dr. J. Walter, 229. 
Fisher, Secretary W. L., 424. 

Five Civilized Tribes, 11, 28, 29, 133-172, 204, 209, 

276, 277, 379, 415, 417, 427. 
Flammand, Joe, 80. 
Flat Hip, 185. 
Fletcher, Miss Alice C, 307. 
Florida, 35, 240, 265. 
Foreman. Grant, 13, 137, 139, 160, 168. 
Forrest, E. R., 13, 231, 246, 259. 
Forsythe, Col., 125. 
Fort Belknap Reservation, 34. 
Fort Fetterman, 310. 
Fort Laramie, 177. 
Fort Phil. Kearney, 177, 286. 
Fort Robinson, 180. 
Foster, Charles, 103. 
Fourteen Confederated Tribes, 257. 
Four Important Books, 367-377. 
Franciscan Fathers, 225, 241, 274. 
French Mission, 36. 
Friedman, Moses, 201. 
Frost, A. N., 13, 139, 163, 413, 427. 



INDEX 



437 



Full-blood Indians, 57 ; 68, 71, 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 

84, 140, 161, 168, 271, 274, 277, 352-358, 432. 
Galagher, H. G., 107, 108. 
Garfield, James, 143, 254, 424. 
G ay-me-wah-nah-na-quoit, 8 1 . 
George, Jr., Henry, 419. 
Georgia, 33. 

Geronimo, 198, 220, 221, 233, 234, 235-240, 373. 

Ghost Dance, (See Messiah Craze). 

Ghost Dance Music, 115. 

"Ghost Dance Religion", 100. 

Gllfillan, Rev. Joseph A., 48, 49, 50, 54, 66, 420. 

Graham, Hon. James M., 49, 98, 419, 478. 

Graham Investigating Committee, 66, 88, 93. 

Grayson, Capt. G. W., 135, 148, 162, 163. 

Greeley, Horace, 300. 

Grenfell, Dr. W. T., 403, 433. 

Gresham, J. E., 139, 163, 427. 

Hall, Darwin S., 67, 93. 

Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, 205, 

209, 211, 212. 
Handbook of American Indians, 15, 45, 173, 190, 

217, 219, 233, 245, 291, 307, 325, 401. 
Harjo Fixico, 135. 
Haskell Institute, 13, 29. 
Hauke, C. F., 25. 
Hawk Man, 124. 

Health of the Indians, 54, 61, 66, 227, 230, 266-277, 

345-351. 
Heckewelder, Rev., 421. 
Henderson, D. B., 65. 
Henry, Robert, 71. 
Hermanutz, Rev. Aloysius, 66, 68. 
Hinton, John H., 90. 
Hodge, Dr. F. W., 219, 291. 
Hole-in-the-Day, 54, 55, 56, 63, 407, 408. 
Holmes, E. G., 77. 
Homar, Father Roman, 13, 85. 
Hospitals, 27, 85, 250, 266, 275, 277. 
Hornaday, Prof. Wm. T., 301, 303. 
Horses, 24, 29, 359. 
Horse Indians, 99, 174, 311. 
House Committee on Indian Affairs, 142, 258. 
Howard, Major John R., 13, 47, 70, 95. 
Hrdlicka, Dr. Ales, 265, 268, 271. 
Humphrey, Seth K., 13, 224, 367, 368, 372, 373, 

376, 421. 
Hunter, Henry (See Weasel). 
Hurley, P. J.," 164. 
Huson, H., 13, 151, 170. 
Indian Domination, 18. 
Indian Industries League, 283. 
Indian Labor, 24, 27, 29, 32, 33, 34, 37, 47, 66, 261. 



Indian Office (See Indian Service) . 

Indian Population, 20, 21, 22, 23, 33, 40, 43, 45, 232. 

Indian Publications, 29, 30, 31, 203. 

Indian Rights Association, 12, 68, 240, 241, 254, 

282, 291, 385, 433. 
Indian Service, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, 42, 66, 68, 69, 

70, N 87, 90, 97, 150, 151, 167, 226, 230, 252, 255, 

291, 327, 331, 340, 360, 363, 366, 424, 428, 431, 

433, 434. 
Indian Territory, 134, 301, 417. 
Inspection Service, 25, 97. 
Iroquois, 33, 35. 

Irrigation, 27, 219, 226, 230, 257, 291-298, f ,374. 
Jackson, Helen Hunt, 94, 183, 224, 237, I, 334, 

367, 372, 373. 
James, George Wharton, 12 15, 241, 29 
Jesus Christ, 102. 
Johnson, Governor John A., 68. 
Johnson, Rev. W. R., 242, 247, 343. 
Jones Bill, 257. 
Jones, Col. W. A., 303. 
Jones, Hon. William, 50, 384. 
Keeps-the-Battle, 107. 
Kelsey, C. E., 13, 282, 327, 336, 337. 
Kelsey, Dana H., 13, 133, 139, 149, 150, 159, 160, 

161, 168, 427. 
Keshena, 36, 37. 

Ketcham, Rev. Wm. H., 224, 229, 242, 248. 

Ke- way-din, 72. 

Kicking Bear, 125. 

Kiowa, 311, 314, 315. 

Kolb, M. J., 82. 

Kraft, Father, 128. 

Kroeber, Dr. A. L., 325, 329. 

Lacy, Georgia, 81. 

Lake Superior, 18. 

Lane, Franklin K., 13, 163, 424, 429 

Leasing, 28. 

Leecy, John, 81. 

Leech Lake, 45, 47, 51, 55, 57, 59. 

Leupp, Francis E., 12, 35, 206, 207, 245, 267, 287, 

288, 359, 367, 369, 371, 384, 402, 424, 433. 
Lewis and Clark, 402. 
Lincoln, President, 211. 

Linnen, E. B., 13, 25, 47, 64, 69, 70, 81, 87, 89, 90, 

93, 95, 96, 97, 385. 
Lipps, Oscar H., 13, 201, 209, 241, 243, 379. 
Little Crow, 175, 401. 
Little Horse, 116. 
Little Wound, 113, 125. 
Livestock, 24, 29, 365. 
Locke, Victor, 428. 
Logan, Gen., 197. 



438 



INDEX 



Louisiana, 43. 

Lufkins, William, 80, 83. 

Lufkins, John, 94, 407. 

Lusk, Charles S., 93. 

Lummis, Chas. F., 14, 210, 267, 3-27, 336. 

Mah-een-gonce, 66, 94. 

Mah-een-gonce's Story, 409. 

Maine, 31, 32, 33. 

Malecite Indians, 33. 

Mangus-Colorado, 233, 238. 

Maps, 20, 21, 22, 25, 35. 

Maricopa, 291. 

Marriages, Indian, 26, 243. 

Marsh, Prof., 176, 180. 

May-dway-we-mind, 56. 

McGillicuddy, Dr., 128. 

Mc Cumber, Senator, 141. 

McKee, Hon. Redick, 329. 

McLaughlin, Supt. (Maj., Hon.), J., 102, 121, 122, 

123, 191, 279, 367, 368. 
McMurray Contracts, 164. 
McWhorter, L. V., 13, 255, 257. 258, 262. 
Medal of Red Cloud, 419. 
Menominee, 35, 36, 40, 41, 43, 268. 
Mercer, Maj. Wm. A., 201. 
Meritt, Edgar B.. 12, 25, 360, 384, 432. 
Merriam, C. Hart, 327, 328, 332. 
Messiah Craze, 99, 100-107, 121, 185, 199, 283. 
Mexico, 220, 221, 223, 235, 237, 239, 325, 326, 373. 
Me-zhuck-ke-ge-shig, 55, 66, 68, 81. 
Me-zhuck-ke-gway-abe, 77. 
Michelet, Simon, 59, 64, 68, 70, 71, 97. 
Michigan, 35. 

Miles, Gen., 128, 130, 180, 191, 192, 240, 308. 

Miller, Okoskee, 135. 

Mille Lac Indians, 63, 65, 93. 

Mission Indians, 297. 

Missionary Denominations, 33, 93, 281, 225. 

Missionaries, 33, 49, 85. 

Minnesota, 33, 265, 366. 

Minnesota Historical Collections, 175. 

Mixed-blood Indians, 21, 26, 47, 48, 53, 57, 66, 68, 

71, 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 84, 140, 168, 352-358, 

432. 

Modocs, 253, 254. 

Moffett, Rev. Thomas C, 282. 

Mohonk Conference, 50, 97, 151, 284, 326, 368, 384, 

385, 413, 418, 425. 
Money belonging to Indians, 26, 40, 42, 47, 62. 
Montana, 34, 260, 261, 264. 
Montezuma, Dr. Carlos, 203, 403. 
Monument at Wounded Knee, 130, 131. 
Mooney, James, 100, 101, 102, 127, 128, 129, 191. 



Moorehead, W. K., 64, 81, 83, 87, 90, 96, 149, 428. 
Morality, 53, 61, 62, 66, 73, 74, 352-358, 380, 381, 

404-405. 
Morgan, T. J., 12, 384. 
Morrison, Robert, 77. 
Mormons, 243, 261, 417. 
Moty Tiger, Chief, 162. 

Mott, Hon. M. L., 11, 13, 137, 140, 141, 143, 150, 

155, 160, 162, 167, 170, 414, 427. 
Murphy, Dr. Joseph A., 14, 273. 
Murray, W. N., 428. 
Murrow, Rev. J. S., 137. 
National Commission (new), 431-434. 
National Indian Association, 250, 281, 327, 335. 
Navaho, 21, 24, 26, 31, 44, 47, 219, 241-252, 279, 

280, 342, 343, 420, 423, 427. 
Negro, 23, 132, 205, 401. 
Nelles, Rev. Felix, 68, 85. 
Nelson Act, 59, 64. 
Nelson, Senator Knute, 68. 
New Brunswick, 31, 33. 

New Mexico, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 241, 249, 265, 

267, 268, 283, 291. 
Newton, Mrs. Elsie E., 97, 216, 379, 404. 
New York, 21, 33, 35, 265, 415. 
Nez Perce, 253, 372, 430. 
Nez Perce War, 253. 
Nichols-Chisholm Lumber Co., 61, 71. 
No Neck, 120, 121. 
North Carolina, 33. 
No Water, 109, 110, 111, 114. 
O'Brien, E. C, 14, 56, 90. 
Official Views of Indian Conditions, 378-385. 
Oglala, 99, 100, 113, 173, 270, 271. 
Ojibwa, 35, 36, 41, 43, 45-56, 57-65, 66-76, 77-88, 

89-98, 99, 204, 308, 342, 361, 373, 399, 427. 
Ojibwa Music, 86. 
Ojibwa's Story, 407. 

Oklahoma, 133-172, 205, 214, 265, 273, 277, 281, 

283, 284, 318, 342, 413-415, 425, 427, 428, 431. 
Oklahoma Delegation, 145. 
O-mo-du-yea-quay, 80. 
O-nah-yah-wah-be-tung, 80. 
One Feather, 129, 130. 
Oneida, 35. 

Onondaga Reservation, 21. 
Oregon, 260. 
Ottawa, 43. 

Out West (Land of Sunshine), 327. 
Owen, Hon. Sen. Robert L., 203, 413, 414. 
Pagan Whites, 289 
Paiutes, 253. 

Papago, 31, 219, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 219. 



INDEX 



439 



Parker, Arthur C, 14, 19 ; 201. 
Parker, Gabe E., 11, 46. 
Park Rapids Lumber Co., 61. 
Parquette, Peter, 252. 
Passamaquoddy, 31, 33. 
Pawnees, 204, 400. 
Peabody, Dr. Charles, 14. 
Peace Commissions, 175, 179, 253. 
Peairs, H. B., 14, 378. 
Peirce, Chas. F., 14, 381. 
Penobscot, 31, 32, 33. 
Pepper, Dr. George W., 241. 
Perault, Joe, 89. 

Philanthropic Organizations, 281-289. 

Phillips Academy, Andover, 211, 245. 

Pillagers, 63, 81, 97, 399. 

Pimas, 219, 222, 223, 224, 291, 374, 382, 383. 

Pine Ridge, 99-109, 111, 117, 122, 125, 128, 132, 

174, 270, 309, 418, 420. 
Plains Indians, 99, 174, 177, 187, 301, 308, 309, 

311-324. 
Politicians, 26, 50, 376, 395. 
Politics and Indians, 139, 144, 376. 
Poncas, 204, 372, 373, 402. 
Potawatomie, 35, 43. 
Powell, Maj. James, 99, 178, 179. 
Pratt, Capt. R. H., 200, 201. 

Prominent Indian Men and Women, 201, 203, 401, 402 
Property (Lands, Timber, Minerals), 21, 23, 24, 26, 

27, 28, 37, 40, 41, 42, 47, 50, 51, 57, 59, 61, 62, 

73, 103, 157, 159, 229, 250, 343. 
Property valuation, 26, 27. 
Public Domain, 31. 

Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, 265. 

Pueblo, 219, 229, 230-232, 267, 268, 291. 

Recommendations, 40, 387-397. 

Red Cloud, 99, 121, 173-189, 281, 318, 402. 

Red Cloud, Jack, 186, 419. 

Red Lake, 45, 47, 51, 57, 59, 62. 

Red Man, The (Journal), 29. 

Red Tomahawk, 123, 124. 

Religion, 279-289. 

Report of cases, 155, 156. 

Riggs Missions, 409. 

Robinson, Senator Joe, 432. 

Rock, Grace, 77. 

Rock, Mrs. John, 77. 

Roe Cloud, Henry, 201, 207, 403. 

Roosevelt, President, 140, 143, 144, 233. 

Rosebud, 104, 107. 

Royer, Doctor D. F., 105, 108. 

Sacagawea, 402. 

St. Luke, John, 71. 



San Carlos, 222. 
Sante Fe Trail, 174. 
Sauk and Fox, 36. 
Saunders, Fred, 77. 

Schools, 27, 37, 38, 39, 48, 87, 106, 138, 146, 213- 

217, 227, 266. 
Scott, Duncan C, 418, 419. 

Secretary of the Interior, 54, 55, 91, 96, 136, 143. 

149, 162, 163, 258, 433. 
Seger, John H., 14, 417, 418. 

Sells, Commissioner, 12, 16, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 151, 
167, 267, 283, 341, 359, 360, 363, 378, 384. 423, 
424, 432. 

Seminoles, 35, 133, 140, 143, 276. 

Sequoy, 402. 

Seventh Cavalry, 125, 128. 

Shangraux, Louis, 118, 119, 120, 121. 

Shave Head, 123, 124, 125. 

Shearman, James T., 54, 55, 56. 

Sherman, Jas. S., 429. 

Sheep, 24, 29, 44, 250, 364, 395. 

Shelton, Mai. W. T., 247, 252, 313. 

Short Bull, 119, 120, 121, 125. 

Sioux, 26, 47, 63, 99-117, 131, 132, 173, 177, 178, 

181, 268, 270, 304, 308, 322, 372, 400, 407. 
Sioux Music, 189. 

Sitting Bull, 99, 102, 121, 122, 123-132, 173, 179, 

180, 184, 190-199, 402. 
Smiley Commission, 334. 
Smiley, Hon. Albert K., 284, 326. 
Smiley, Hon. Daniel, 284. 
Smith, Rev. Wilkins, 85. 
Smithsonian Institution, 12, 15, 219, 265. 
Sniff en, M. K., 13, 25, 247, 255, 283. 
Society of American Indians, 284, 285, 286, 401. 
Spotted Tail, 120, 178, 181, 183, 281, 402. 
Stahlberg, Dr. Isaac, 69. 
Standing Rock, 101, 107. 

Statistics, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 42, 43, 45, 

59, 133, 142, 155, 156, 168, 257, 295. 
Statistics of Indian conditions, 341, 315-358. 
Steenerson, Hon. Halvor, 59, 68. 
Steenerson Act, 59. 
Stephens Bill, 286. 
Stephens, Hon. J. H., 149, 150, 258. 
Stevenson, Mrs. Matilda, 229. 
Strikes-the-Kettle, 124. 
Stone Calf, 317. 
Sturdevant, W. L., 141, 144. 
Sully, Gen., 316. 

Swindling of Indians, 71, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 
84, 87, 98, 136, 150, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156. 160, 
163, 166, 254. 



440 



INDEX 



Taft, President, W. H., 151, 422. 
Talequah, 135, 138. 146 
Tennessee, 33. 
Texas, 13. 
Thumb Prints, 81. 
Tiger, Moty, 162, 163. 

Trachoma, 27, 32. 52. 54, 85, 208, 209, 211. 250. 

265, 267, 269, 276, 277. 315, 351, 38-2. 
Treaties, 41, 62, 195, 329, 330, 371. 
Tribal Property, 21, 40. 
Tribal Customs, 20. 
Tribal Funds, 27, 40. 

Tuberculosis, 27, 32, 35, 54, 85, 92, 208, 209, 210, 
211, 250, 265, 267, 268, 269, 270, 272. 273, 274, 
-275. 277, 345-351. 382, 416. 

Tucson Farms Company, 225. 226, 227. 

Twin Lakes, 49. 

Tw o Strike, 120, 121. 

Union Pacific Railway, 301. 

Utah, 263. 

Utes, 107, 253, 258, 259. 

U. S. Reclarurnation Service, 257. 

Valentine, Robert G., 11, 12, 69. 207. 242, 254. 267, 

359, 384, 399, 424, 433. 
Valuation, Stock, 24. 
Vanoss, Andrew, 82. 

Vaux, Hon. George, Jr., 14, 149, 167, 224. 

Victoria, 220, 221. 

Van Metre, J. T., 71, 83. 

Wakaya, Simon, 153. 

Wallace, Dr. W. W., 14, 247. 

Waller, Mr., 82. 

Wanamaker Expedition, 248. 



Wanamaker, Rodman, 12. 
War Dance Music, 189. 

War Department, 25, 132, 173, 200, 223, 233. 

Warren, William W., 45, 98. 

Washington, Booker T., 402. 

Weasel, The, 102, 112, 117. 

Weber, Rev. Anselm, 14, 241, 242, 246. 247. 

Whipple, Bishop, 371. 

White Bird, 108. 

White Earth, 41, 43, 45, 49, 51. 53, 55, 57, 59, 66, 

70, 77, 89-98, 254, 409. 411, 424. 
Whitside. Major, 125. 
Wigglesworth, Dr., 250. 
Wild Rice Lumber Co., 61. 
Wilson, Horace, 381. 
Winnebago, 35. 372. 
Winnemucca, Sarah, 264, 402. 
Wisconsin, 35, 36, 40, 41, 42, 43, 213, 265, 273, 274. 
Wisconsin University Conference, 285. 
Wood, Brig.-Gen. P. G., 125. 
Wovoka, 101, 102. 

Wounded Knee Massacre, 123-132, 186. 
Wounded Knee Creek, 117, 119. 
Wozencraft, Hon. O. M., 329, 332. 
Wright, Rev. Charles, 68, 69. 

Wright, J. George, 14, 28, 133, 139, 157, 150, 161, 427. 

Wright, Robert M., 14, 182, 286, 299, 311. 

Wyoming, 43, 295. 

Yakima, 26, 253, 255, 257, 295, 385. 

Yellow Bird, 127. 

Yuma, 219, 223, 291. 

Zeisberger, Rev., 421. 

Zuni, 229, 232. 



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